James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. At the beginning of his presentation he outlined the problem, namely too many bodies with responsibility. He mentioned the 11 local authorities from Fermanagh down to Clare, the various State agencies and vested interests etc. We need a single body to co-ordinate those agencies. I live in the Shannon valley and I see first hand what is happening. The co-ordination is not working. No Government or Minister could do anything about the severe weather conditions but the monitoring was not up to an acceptable standard, considering the amount of land that was flooded. I have raised this time and time again. It does not cost a lot of money to get the weir gates opened and keep the water levels two feet below the weir wall in Athlone.

On the maintenance of the Shannon and the waters feeding it, debris such as leaves and branches flows down into the river. It is important that those blocks are cleared fairly often between Lough Ree and Lough Derg. There needs to be more local consultation and co-ordination, and flood warning systems and emergency management need to be put in place to alleviate the build-up of silt in the River Shannon. We should examine using the cutaway bogs in Counties Longford, Westmeath, Offaly and Roscommon to drain off and store water from the Shannon when necessary.

As I said, a large number of statutory bodies exercise authority over various aspects of the river management and they are all chiefs in their own right. A number of private organisations are also involved. There is no structure to ensure the co-ordination of those activities.

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