Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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-----that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine would engage with the OPW in helping them in the resolution. There is a simple resolution to this and that is to finish the job that is two thirds done.

In regard to the turlough, I have spoken to people in the National Parks and Wildlife Service and, I will be honest and I have said this before, if you are to go through the procedure, it is about a four-year process between all the rigmarole you have to go through. I hope this situation under discussion will be resolved long before that, barring, to be blunt about it, and we have to be honest as politicians, some of these self-interest parties that have no clue and that do not live in those areas deciding to keep going to the courts. That is a risk. There is no point in saying it is not.

The other question relates to the lands that farmers have lost. Mr. Kearney said he is not interested in being looked at in this respect, but if someone is affected by something, then no more than in Shass Mountain in Leitrim where there was a bog slide, there is a force majeuremeasure to help the farming community. Perhaps the witnesses could engage with us on the committee on that with respect to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It is a sad story to hear of someone who has 12 cows, which is not a great many cows, to be honest, and it is the average farm in the west of Ireland, having to go down to four cows. It was not their fault. It was what happened with the situation there.

Pumps were taken away recently but our understanding, having talked to the OPW, and I am sure the other Deputies and Senators have talked to the OPW, is that it is going to be on standby. If there is a problem, it is willing to help. However, we as a committee have to be honest. While everyone will be talking to all the different bodies and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine needs to get involved, at the end of the day it will involve the OPW and Roscommon County Council through the system they have to go through. As Councillor Fallon has pointed out quite rightly, it will happen in other places. It happened last week in Connemara where Galway County Council was once again stopped through the same rigmarole and BS that goes on in blocking jobs from being done where more problems are happening. We have seen the housing situation. We are hearing every day in this forum that everyone has the right to housing. These people have their houses and they are being driven out of them, to be quite blunt about it. That is a damnable situation when you have your own house that you have paid for. I will not harp on.

Will the Chair accept the proposal that this committee do as I suggested? It is important there is engagement between the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the OPW. We need all the bodies going together to ensure this pipe is finished. A few weeks will finish this pipe. I have said at the meetings that while they have to go through the different hoops and loops and stuff to make sure, what the people in that area need is to see action phase by phase. There are a few phases to go through. In fairness they were promised a meeting in three months when they were last before the committee.