Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. I accept the point he is making, but the previous and current committees recommended that there be a lead agency to co-ordinate matters. No one is in charge; there is no single Minister answerable to the House. We already know, in the context of the Asian clam problem, that a lack of co-ordination and indecisiveness among the agencies involved led to a situation where no action was taken for months. We do not have months where we have a flooding problem to deal with. One of the recommendations made was that work be undertaken immediately on the River Shannon and its tributaries to clear the peat silt that had accumulated during the years. As the Minister knows, the big problem is that the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, prevented such work from being carried out in the past. Will he ensure humans will have equal priority with flora and fauna, along with the impact of flooding on human beings, families and their homes? I ask that an assessment be carried out of the failure to date of the OPW because of the blockage by the NPWS to carry out maintenance works on the river.

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