Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to present this Bill to the Dáil and to speak on it on First Stage. Many people live along the River Shannon and everyone is sick and tired of the floods hitting and the politicians coming out on their boats to have photographs taken and to say how awful it is. The politicians go away, the floods recede and that is the end of it. Then the floods come again and again.

Families, businesses and farmers are affected and we really need to shout "Stop" because it keeps happening. The River Shannon needs to be maintained and managed and that is not happening. Pinch points have been identified and we have had report after report. I do not suggest we should drain the Shannon. I am advocating that people should go to those pinch points and clear it out. I suggest we should manage and maintain it.

I am aware environmental concerns are often raised and cited when it comes to this issue, such as protection of the flora and fauna and so on. We are now at the stage, however, where there is no flora and fauna because they are not attracted to the river any more as it is so badly maintained. Many parts along the river are in a poor state and I believe maintenance would improve the position of the flora and the fauna.

We must put people first on this issue, that is, farmers, families and businesses who have been flooded repeatedly. In some cases, homes have been absolutely destroyed and families have not been able to return and live in them again. This Bill makes absolute sense. I met with the Save Our Shannon group on Friday. It cares about the river wants to see it maintained and managed. The way to do that is to have a single authority for the River Shannon. We need to stop talking about this issue when the flood comes and take action right now. I commend this Bill to the House.

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