Mr. Andrew McHugh:

In the same vein, when we met Jacobs on their interim report, we asked if it would make a difference to flooding if levels in Lough Ree dropped. They said they had only looked at the big floods and that levels would have to drop massively to affect that.

When asked about whether it would make a difference to small floods, we were told that Jacobs had not even bothered considering that possibility and would do so for the final report, yet this is the interim report and we are determining what immediate action to take. The Office of Public Works, OPW, having considered the report and its figures, asserts that dropping the levels in Lough Ree to the weir, which would cause no trouble no matter what anyone in Waterways Ireland claims, would get rid of all of the minor summer flooding in the first April-August period. Jacobs did not come out with this information, but the OPW has. This is why we have problems with the report.