Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Silke, Mr. Parlon, Mr. McHugh and Mr. Gunning for coming before the committee and making their presentation. Mr. Silke has conveyed in words how grave the situation is. The section with which I am most familiar is west Offaly. I have received many complaints from people living in the area and I am very concerned about it. Like Deputy Cowen I have been involved in meetings with the Minister of State, Deputy Hayes, and have tried to impress on him the urgency of the situation.

While the Shannon is the major concern, in the constituency of Laoighis-Offaly there are problems with drainage works on the rivers Goul, Erkina, Nore, Whitehorse and Barrow. At the root of these problems are pounds, shillings and pence, but also the powers of the National Parks and Wildlife Service which can almost stop an aircraft flying across the sky. EU directives have given it massive powers. We have a choice to make. The witnesses are leading figures in the IFA. I am not stating we should unhinge from Europe, but at some stage soon the IFA and politicians must state some of these directives are bananas. I speak from an environmentalist point of view when I say the environmental destruction that has happened because of flooding on the Shannon is criminal. Mr. Silke mentioned the corncrake, and hundreds of other species have probably been wiped out, never mind the human race, along the banks of the Shannon, which is our primary concern today. Farmers are being wiped out by the summer flooding in the area. It is a major issue. To carry out 40 or 50 yards of work on the rivers Goul and Erkina, Laois County Council was told a report done last year had to be redone and another set of consultants brought in.

One must spend €10,000 to carry out €1,000 worth of work in order to allow a fellow in with a digger or a Hymac for a half day or a day to remove silt. That is crazy. The expense affects the local authorities, ratepayers, farmers, house owners and people living in towns and villages. I have seen the same thing happen on all of those rivers when I was a councillor and since I have become a Deputy. We need to grab hold of the matter.

Mention was made of the lead agency and it is a recurring theme. When we met Deputy Hayes the last time the impression that I got was that the OPW had very little power. There is more power in a 30 watt light bulb than the OPW when it comes to this issue. They NPWS are subserviant to the OPW. I support Deputy Cowen's call to debate the matter in the Dáil.

With regard to the legislation and the powers of the OPW, the delegation is familiar with it because they lobbied us last year about OPW powers and EU directive on wetlands, the drainage of wetlands and the onerous changes that were made last year. The legislation needs to be tested and faced down. There is a crucial difference between us and Europe. We have a different problem to that experienced by drier central European countries. We have a serious flooding problem which needs to be dealt with.

Perhaps the delegation will spell out what it means by river maintenance. I think I know what they mean. What are the most important issues of river maintenance that we need to be deal with now? I ask the delegation to comment on the battle of wills between the NPWS and sustaining a livelihood in agriculture in areas which have been affected by serious flooding.

Summer flooding was mentioned a number of times. It is caused by climate change. All of us over 40 years of age will remember the term "squally showers" which meant a cupful or more of rain. The volume of rain would not fill a basin. Now we have a month's rain in half an hour, particularly during the summer, which affects many areas. I ask the IFA to comment as it is a crucial issue.

In the greater scheme of things we are a small nation but we have a responsibility to deal with the problem. We also have a responsibility to provide food due to an increase in the world's population and we must provide for Harvest 2020. I ask the delegation to comment on climate change because it is having a serious impact on every country and it has had a visible impact on Ireland since 2003 or 2004. One day I had to stop my car outside of Durrow because I could not drive due to extremely heavy rainfall. That was the first time that I had to stop my car due to heavy rain and I have been driving for a good few years. I would also like the delegation to comment on summer flooding.

What does the IFA think we should do about the OPW and the NPWS? The report needs to be laid in the Dáil. We also need legislation in order to undo some of the harm done. What specific issues on river maintenance need to be addressed? I fully support what the IFA is doing.