Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, I welcome the Minister of State here, thank him and tell him that I visited Lough Funshinagh in the beautiful County Roscommon and that unique and most beautiful and stunning SAC. I met many people in Coolnageer, Curraghboy, Knockcroghery, Ballagh and Rahara.

My first thought was I found people who were welcoming, engaging, resilient and positive. I spent much time with the Beattie family. I thank them, because I know they are tuned in to our proceedings today, for their hospitality and their tea and coffee and their chats. I also thank my colleague, Independent Councillor Laurence Fallon, who is their neighbour and has land of his own surrounded by water. Most important, I felt the resilience of the people and their determination. They are up for a fight if a fight is necessary, but I hope one will not be.

I also found people who were particularly grateful to the Minister of State and spoke very highly of him and, indeed, the Leader of the House, who, they told me, was with them a few days before I arrived. They spoke about how they had to be determined and resilient. They saw an end to this. They wanted to protect their beautiful SAC. They wanted to protect the land and the farm trade of their forebears. They were not people who just lived in a house. They were there to protect their livelihoods, their history, their lineage, their heritage and, above all, their farmstead where they yield their income. That was clearly a big issue.

I heard the stories of people who were forced to evacuate their homes. I heard of the 24-7 high alert that people are in and that they go to bed at night with someone always alert, but I also heard the gratefulness to the OPW for all the pumps. I could hear the pumps working and inspected all the pumps that are there. They praised the National Parks and Wildlife Service. They thanked the Office of Public Works. They thanked Deputy O'Donnell's Ministry and they thanked us for the engagement. Clearly, it is a high-risk danger zone for these people. They have had to evacuate their homes. The experience of having to abandon one's home at short notice hangs over them. They are in a living nightmare and that is something that no one should have to do. It is important that the Minister of State is here today. I know they are tuned in. We are expecting to hear from the Minister of State today and to listen to this report. I have no doubt they will see it. This is a major cause of disruption in their lives. There was clear evidence of the destruction of this beautiful natural habitat which everyone wants to save. There have to be win-wins all the way here. My thoughts are with the families.

The water levels on the lakes continue to rise. I thank Roscommon County Council but also its councillors, who kept this issue to the fore. There are farmlands now divided, not by ideology, history, economics or the environment but by sheer unmanaged water. We walked land that is stagnant, still, sluggish and lifeless. What a thing to have to say about beautiful land in this beautiful part of the world. It is clear there are issues.

I want to acknowledge the work of Deputy Fitzmaurice, who has called for emergency powers to be signed. I do not know the implications of emergency powers but I understand they would require the support of the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste. I want to acknowledge the important work of the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, and also Deputy Naughten, who made this issue a priority in his early discussions with the new Taoiseach, Deputy Simon Harris, and with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan.We need to find a solution and possibly an emergency order, as Deputy Fitzmaurice suggests. I wish to hear more about that from the Minister of State. We also need short-term, interim, medium-term and long-term solutions because we cannot drain lands at Lough Funshinagh only to have this doing potential damage elsewhere in County Roscommon. We have to follow the science and take professional advice. We cannot just be politically expedient and say the right thing in order to appease certain people during an electoral cycle, which we are now running into. The local and European elections will be held in a few weeks and a general election will be held a few months later. I talked previously in this House about the leverage of elections and how that facilitates democracy at work because people suddenly have to sit up and listen.

I will finish on this. I acknowledge the work of the Deputies. I acknowledge the work of Senators Dolan and Murphy, who represent the people of the area in the Seanad. I want to hear how we can work together for short-term and interim solutions and save people’s homes, livelihoods and health.