Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the constructive way in which Deputy Nolan has approached this. We spend an awful lot of time on the matter of the Shannon in the Department. The United States Army Corps of Engineers could not find a solution to this. The de Valera Government in the 1940s was bedevilled with it. Everybody else has looked at it as well. This will not be fixed easily. A number of agencies have responsibility. The Shannon is an important tourist asset and navigation asset. We derive much electricity from it. It has a fish element. The Shannon only drops 15 m in 200 km. From its source in County Cavan to where it enters the sea in my own county, it only drops 49 m. It is a slow-moving river with many complicated elements around it, not only legislative and regulatory elements, but the actual topography of the river itself. It lends itself dramatically to the flooding that the Deputy refers to, particularly in the summer in the Shannon Callows, and that causes difficulty for farmers. We are acutely aware of that. That is why I have prioritised it within the Department and why I hope to be in a position to bring a report to the Government as quickly as possible. As I said earlier, that will be in April.

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