Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I note the Government's proposed amendment, and I will address it in greater detail in my closing statement. It is welcome, however, that the Government agrees with the merit of this Bill. People living along the River Shannon, from Cavan to Clare, are sick and tired. They are sick of being hit with recurring floods and they are tired of politicians in wellies turning up, wringing their hands, paying lip service to flood defences and mumbling about multi-agency approaches before heading back to their own nice dry homes. It was expected that we would experience a 1% chance of severe flooding every year. That prediction has now changed. There has been an increase in the prevalence of flooding and categorical evidence that the floods are getting bigger. These flood events threaten homes, farming lands and businesses and erode the quality of rural Ireland, jeopardising its very existence.

This year alone, there have been two flooding events in my constituency of Longford-Westmeath. There was one in February and another in July. Some areas are now under water and more are under threat. There is a real danger of complacency creeping in. Every winter we watch people isolated by rising waters and battling with pumps and sandbags to keep their homes, belongings and animals safe and dry. Despite the best efforts of volunteers, emergency responders, local authority staff and members of the Defence Forces, the water still finds its way through.

We have no comprehension of how it feels to look at weather reports with genuine fear and trepidation, like those affected by the flooding of River Shannon do, and only too well. Since 2016, 40 families have applied for humanitarian assistance to relocate because there is simply no alternative. Let us think about that for a moment. Let us think about the heartbreak behind those decisions to leave the only home many of those people have known, often for generations, because of the risk of flooding. It is time we all said enough is enough. Enough with this ad hocapproach to the River Shannon, enough with disappointing the people most affected by the failure of legislators to get to grips with this issue. It is well past time that a single agency was tasked with management of the River Shannon.

There are genuine fears that without a single agency having responsibility, the necessary changes and works will not happen in a reasonable and necessary timeline, or even in the lifetimes of those most affected today. Twenty State agencies, from the ESB and Waterways Ireland to the local authorities, are involved in management along the River Shannon. Each of those agencies has responsibility for protecting its own prospects. While their open, informal, if-and-when relationship is to be welcomed and is effective in most scenarios, in this specific case it is not working, is not effective and is not producing the results needed. The previous Government established the Shannon flood risk management State agency co-ordination working group to support existing plans and enhance co-operation. While this was a good first step, a working group that meets twice a year is clearly insufficient, as evidenced by the flooding that has occurred this year alone.

This Bill seeks to establish a River Shannon management agency on a statutory footing and provides for statutory powers for the agency to manage and co-ordinate necessary works along the length of the River Shannon. The Bill also requires the agency to produce a strategic plan for management of the River Shannon within three months of its establishment. No works can be carried out on any river without potentially having an effect further downstream, including fast currents, erosion of banks and bridges being put under pressure, and that outcome requires appropriate strategic planning.

The concept of a single agency has been endorsed by stakeholders, such as the Save our Shannon group, and Fianna Fáil supported the proposal when in opposition. As recently as September, the Fianna Fáil Deputy from Offaly said just that in this Chamber. The River Shannon is a complex system and includes elements of built infrastructure, areas of conservation, ecology, biodiversity, agriculture, electricity generation and tourism. Equally complex will be the solutions that must be put in place to ensure coherent and effective management of the river. It is time to advance the River Shannon Management Agency Bill 2020 and remind people living along this magnificent river that this House does not only think about flooding when they are reaching for the sandbags.

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