Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 34: To ask the Minister for Finance the steps he will take to address the summer flooding in the Shannon Callows; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18433/11]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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In my reply to a similar question in March, I stated the consideration of flooding matters in the River Shannon catchment falls within the national programme of catchment flood risk assessment and management studies, or CFRAM studies, being commissioned nationally throughout 2011. The Office of Public Works appointed engineering consultants, Jacobs International, in Dec 2010 to undertake the Shannon CFRAM study. This work will identify and examine in detail the causes of flooding throughout the Shannon catchment and produce an integrated plan of specific measures to address the significant flood risk factors in a proactive and comprehensive way. Its output will be a flood risk management plan for the Shannon catchment, taking into account economic, social and environmental factors.

Considerable progress has been made in progressing the study, which will continue to 2015 and will meet the requirements of the EU floods directive. A number of meetings of both the CFRAM advisory and progress groups, which includes representatives of the principal stakeholders, have taken place and the study programme remains firmly on track.

The incidence of summer flooding of the Shannon Callows between Portumna and Athlone is an important part of the CFRAM study for the Shannon catchment. It is important to stress that the long-term resolution of significant areas of flooding risk in the Shannon catchment, and indeed on all national river catchments, must derive from the extensive range of CFRAM studies now being undertaken.

In the context of the delivery of the first principal reporting stage of this study, which is the preliminary flood risk assessment, a public consultation will take place in the late summer in the local authority areas contiguous to the River Shannon catchment, as well as nationally for all other catchments. In parallel with this public consultation, I have engaged extensively in a series of meetings with local delegations and the Irish Farmers Association in Athlone, Longford and east Galway.

Since my appointment as Minister of State, in addition to the observations and dialogue I have already heard during my recent sequence of meetings along the Shannon, I am arranging for a stakeholder consultation forum at the end of this month. This will include the main stakeholder groups in the Shannon catchment and will provide a more structured opportunity for those groups to set out their concerns. This stakeholder consultation forms an integral part of the CFRAM process.

In the interim, a number of minor flood mitigation works have been funded by the OPW through the relevant local authority in Ballinasloe, Athlone and Carrick on Shannon, totalling €2.4 million in 2010 and 201. This is a very considerable investment in this region to provide enhanced flood protection.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

Operational control of water flows on the Shannon is essentially a matter for both Waterways Ireland and the ESB. The OPW maintains regular consultation with Waterways Ireland and the ESB to ensure water management protocols for the major storage areas in the Shannon system are kept under review.

Some maintenance works on the Shannon channel are subject to agreement with the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Approval for the application to carry out these minor maintenance works has been the subject of discussions between the OPW and the NPWS. In this regard, I also had a meeting at the end of May with the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and a number of Shannon-based Deputies. The issue of licence approvals was discussed at that meeting and I am pleased to note assurances from the NPWS that the first of these approvals will be given this month. A meeting to resolve the outstanding issues on the remaining application will take place this week between my office and the NPWS. Subject to these approvals, it is intended that these maintenance works will be scheduled for autumn 2011.