Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is important to point out that I am not suggesting a farmer should go into the river with a Hymac and take out the base of the river. I am suggesting that we need to start thinking about these things differently. If we are to rely on the OPW to do it, we will be like Noah. The whole country will be under water because the OPW simply does not have the resources to do it. We need to start thinking about doing these things differently. I believe the way to do it differently is to involve the stakeholders. Among the primary stakeholders are the people who live along the banks of the rivers and the farmers through whose lands these rivers flow. I put it to the Minister of State that if the OPW was faced with the River Boyne today in the condition that many of our rivers are in, Drogheda would probably be under water, as would several other towns between Meath and Louth. Luckily that river was done at a time when we did not have restrictions from the National Parks and Wildlife Service and every other vested interest which seems to have a say in how these rivers are managed.

I agree with the Minister of State that it should be done in an organised fashion. However, if we do not change tack now and realise that the current model is flawed, it will cost a good deal of money. The State cannot afford it - I accept that - and it does not have the money to drain all of these rivers. However, resources are available throughout the country, which, I believe, could be tapped in a productive way. These could be supervised and operate in the best interests of everyone for the benefit of the river, its ecology and, more important, the local community. I put it to the Government that the new rural development programmes represent an ideal opportunity, whether through the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme or other agri-environment schemes to be introduced, to incentivise farmers, landowners and local communities to get involved along with Inland Fisheries Ireland, the Department and the OPW. We can pretend that the OPW will be able to do this, but it will never do it. The whole country will be under water in the near future if we take the attitude we are taking at the moment, that is, to leave it as it is.

The OPW only deals with channels on which work has started and it does not take on new channels. Areas at high risk of flooding, of which there are many, are being left to their own devices and that is unacceptable.

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