Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses. I appreciate they are here to talk about the issue of rewetting. I take on board that the NPWS has 30 years of experience in this area. As someone who grew up looking out at a bog I am conscious that they were thousands of years in formation and there is a lot more there than 30 years. There are a lot of imponderable facts when one is looking at rewetting.

I take on board what the witnesses said about consultation with farmers and that there is an opportunity for farmers to have their land bought out if they do not want to go down other roads. Farmers may not want a project to go ahead at all. Climate is changing. We have seen how we have struggled to cope with flooding. Over the past ten years we have seen multiple examples of that right across the country. I have some questions on the nub of the issue.

If the NPWS comes to my farm gate to take me through a consultation process and I am somewhat sceptical and ask a representative to show me how the process will evolve, can I see a time-lapse video of what will happen over the next ten, 40 or 60 years and how it will impact my farm or the likely impact it will have? Is there any provision in such a time-lapse video for freak weather patterns? We have had a number of exceptionally wet winters. If they happened again, is that factored into how the process will evolve over ten, 20 or 40 years?

My final question relates to the ESB. How involved is it in this process, in particular where there has been large-scale peat production in midland areas which is now coming to an end? We all appreciate the merits of rewetting boglands. The ESB has responsibility for the control of water levels on the River Shannon. As much as rewetting the boglands will have an impact, the biggest impact on water levels on bogs is what happens on the River Shannon and how it is controlled.

In terms of the plans the NPWS has for the midlands, specifically Longford-Westmeath, how engaged is the ESB with that process? If we asked the ESB to open sluice gates it simply would not happen. Is the ESB in agreement with the plans of the NPWS? Is it on the end of the phone? If something is not working will it open the gates?