Mr. Joe Parlon:

Before Deputy Corcoran Kennedy speaks, may I respond to the point Deputy Stanley made about the difficulty in trying to get work done. Maintenance work has been ongoing on the Little Brosna for three years. When I talk about maintenance work, the same as Mr. Silke, it is not taking out silt because one would not be allowed do that, but it is cutting the bushes and trees that are hanging down into the river and blocking it. The problem with doing that type of work is that one is not allowed on to the river until after 1 September because one cannot do anything while the trees are in bloom. Anyone who knows the area knows how difficult it is to get a dry spell in September and October. Work was carried out in 2011 and I was working with Vincent Hussey of the OPW. In order to get work done, one must apply to the OPW through Mr. Hussey and then he must apply for a licence from the National Parks and Wildlife Service to do that work. It was difficult to get that licence in the first couple of years so in the first year it was 25 September before we got the digger in. During the second year, we got them in on 20 September. In that second year, we had agreed to take out 12 trees that was hanging down into the river. We only managed to get half the work done before the weather broke and the diggers had to be removed after a week.

In the year 2012, we had a bit of dry weather in September and we moved again to try to get the work done. I had applied to do so in June and July through Mr. Vincent Hussey and around the middle of September we got the diggers in but when the diggers arrived, the local ranger decided that an environmental impact study on otters was required before they would allow any more trees to be taken out, even though they had taken out half of them the year before. That is the type of stupidity goes on. I lost the head with the ranger on this issue, to the extent that on a Friday evening he telephoned a man to come and look at the river first thing on the Monday morning and see whether the work could go ahead. It was passed and the diggers were able to take out the rest of the trees on the Monday. That is just an example of the difficulty of getting work done.

We have a major difficulty with maintenance work on the River Shannon. We dealt with two people, Mr. Vincent Hussey and Mr. John Curtin. I worked with Vincent Hussey for three years and he has been moved on. John Curtin, who had put in a big effort in doing things, has been transferred to the monuments section.

As soon as one builds up a relationship with an official, he or she is moved on. The new official, Mr. Michael Collins, maintains that the OPW has no responsibility for maintenance on the Shannon itself. He says it has responsibility for the tributaries, the Suck, the Little Brosna and so on, but that Waterways Ireland has responsibility for maintenance on the Shannon. It does not make sense that Waterways Ireland, which is interested in navigation and recreation, would have any interest in maintenance to allow water on. Its interest is in holding water up. That is a huge problem in getting work done.

Like Michael Silke, last June was a clincher as far as I am concerned. There was an opportunity during the dry period to allow water down through the system. There is no capacity now. That is why we have summer flooding. A small amount of rain in the summer will flood the system. Two feet of capacity could have been gained.

If there is any dry spell during the winter period water can be released and allowed down through the system. Last year was a prime example of this, when we had a dry period in March and April. If water had been released at that time, it would have created a huge capacity for when the rain came. Last week, the ESB contacted us to say there was a chance of flooding in the next 24 hours. That was too late. Weather forecasts are pretty good. Last June, we were given seven days warning of a huge rainfall that was coming but nothing was done in that seven-day period. The weir in Meelick could have been opened to allow water on. Athlone could have been opened. Even seven days water would have made a huge difference. Nothing happened until it had rained for 48 hours and Michael Silke had to go and plead with Waterways Ireland to open the weir in Meelick to let off some water. Where was the plan?

On my computer, I get updates on water levels on the Shannon and the predicted rainfall. We have all the figures and predictions of rainfall, but what can be done with them?