Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this important issue tonight. It is not often I get an opportunity to raise an issue in this Chamber that concerns my own parish, so I am delighted to have that chance. This serious matter relates to the embankments on the Fergus estuary, which cover the inner part of the Shannon estuary from outside Ennis.

In the 1960s the Office of Public Works, OPW, did a major upgrade on the embankments from Clarecastle to Islandavanna, and I compliment the work done at the time, along with the ongoing work on the embankments on the Fergus estuary. I am delighted to see the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Martin Mansergh, is in the Chamber because he is in charge of these matters. Unfortunately, when the Office of Public Works did the work it ran out of money, or some parishioners have said the money was diverted. As a result, the job was unfinished. Through the years many efforts have been made by the local people, landowners and politicians to continue the upgrading but unfortunately, successive Governments have turned a blind eye to the issue. I remember as a young man being part of a deputation to the Office of Public Works on St. Stephen's Green, where we spoke with the late Joe Bermingham when he was a Minister of State. He was a colleague of the Acting Chairman. That is how long this problem is ongoing.

I raised this matter last year and at my request the Office of Public Works carried out a feasibility study on the conditions of the embankments and cost of repair. Unfortunately, the study found the cost of the works required on the embankments would outweigh the benefits that would accrue. This was a short-sighted view and although I understand the OPW has existing commitments to prioritise flood relief works in other areas, these embankments should be treated as a priority. I praise the work done by the OPW and the contracts signed recently for upgrading the Fergus embankments in Ennis; that came about as a result of the flooding from this time last year and I hope the work will continue.

The river could flood many houses in the urban areas but in rural areas much land - the livelihood of many farmers - can be flooded. Unfortunately, last weekend there was a very high tide covering the embankments in the area which resulted in a number of breaches in very weak areas. Nothing has been done with many of the banks through the years and with winter approaching and the likelihood of windy and stormy weather, more damage will be done. Hundreds of acres of land are likely to be flooded if some emergency works are not carried out on these embankments, which will result in farmers' livelihoods being affected. It is a significant issue in my own parish. I am not talking about just a few landowners but rather many farmers stretched over many miles.

I do not expect that in these recessionary times the OPW will be able to put in much money but I expect that following the feasibility study, some funding for emergency works will be provided to deal with current breaches. There is an old saying that a stitch in time saves nine and if breaches are allowed to continue, it would cost much more to fix damage done to the land. We are in a recession and landowners do not have excess money to fix these breaches because it is expensive to do so. The OPW has the dredgers to deal with the issue and has done great work in the areas along Clarecastle and Islandavanna.

I am delighted to see the Minister of State here tonight and I ask him if it is possible for him to procure emergency funding to fix the breaches in the embankments. There has been significant waste in public finances and a small amount of money would make a big difference to farmers in the region. I am pleading with him in my capacity as a parishioner in the area for any money to fix those breaches and prevent a bigger catastrophe later.

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