Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this very important Bill. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing it forward. I commiserate with the people along the Shannon and in its catchment area. Members have seen television reports showing what they have suffered and endured and continue to endure, such as their homes being flooded. There is nothing more horrible than a house that is flooded. The water comes up the toilet from the sewer and all that and the house is ruined and never the same again. It is horrible to see a slatted tank full of water with cattle inside it. There may be small calves in it, paddling around in the water. That is terrible and horrible and people should not have to endure it.

I agree that there have been enough studies. The time for studying is over. Action needs to be taken. There has never been as many excavators or as much technical equipment for taking levels and all that. We did not have that equipment in the past. I have been told that the River Shannon has not been properly dredged since the English did it back in the 1880s, which is very sad. There is no excuse for it. There should be no prohibition on taking silt or blockages out of the river. In County Kerry, for approximately ten years until 2018, the River Flesk flooded regularly. Fourteen homes were being flooded constantly. The N22 was being flooded. Thankfully, the former Minister of State, Kevin Boxer Moran, came down and stood on Curreal Bridge. I thank him for coming down. He gave us €160,000 to clear the branches that were blocking the river. We were flooded out of it in late 2015 and early 2016 but the road and houses have not been flooded since the work was done. It only took three weeks of cutting branches and trees. It is a delight to pass up and down by the river now. There have been serious floods as recently as last week, but only a small bit of work is needed and that work can be done.

Surely it is more important to please and appease the people whose homes, lands and businesses are being flooded than to be worried about environmentalists who do not have to endure flooding. That is the sad fact of the matter. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, who is present, might be afraid of the environmentalists, but what would the story be if the people whose homes, businesses and farms are being flooded took a court case against the State for not doing anything to help them? That is what the Government should be worried about because what is happening is not fair. The ordinary, good-living people who have done nothing wrong must be listened to.

There has been a lot of talk about holding back water. CFRAM is trying to hold back water in various parts of the country, but I do not support that approach. There is a river running through Castleisland. It was cleaned out in the late 1950s and early 1960s and the place was fine for many years. Now there is a proposal to spend €5 million or €6 million to enclose a 12 acre field with a wall to hold back the water. That is rubbish. It is a waste of good money. Transport Infrastructure Ireland is proposing to raise the road in Glenflesk but the road has not flooded since the work was done on the river. All that needs to be done is to maintain the river, ensure it is kept free from blockages and let the water flow. If one has a glass of water and half fills it with sugar, what will happen? The water will come out over the top of the glass. All the Department needs to do is to clean out the pinch points and blockages. That will relieve the people who are affected by flooding and give them a chance to carry on. If a river did not flood in the past, why should it be flooding now?

I am very grateful for the opportunity to contribute on the Bill. I support the people living along the Shannon and in the Shannon catchment area. They need attention. All Members will support them but we are depending on the Minister of State to get working, get machines out there and get levels taken to ensure that places will not continue to be flooded.

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