Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the steps he is taking to implement the recommendations by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment report on Shannon Flooding published earlier this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52862/12]

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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The recommendations of the report to which the Deputy refers are being comprehensively examined and considered by my Department. As the Deputy will be aware, the recommendations cover a number of areas within my Department's remit, including Waterways Ireland, which has responsibility for Shannon navigation, and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, which has general responsibility for the implementation of national and EU law under the Wildlife Acts and the birds and habitats directives for the protection of habitats and species. When the process is completed, the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, will respond with his views and observations to the joint committee.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response but I put it to him that while this report was presented to the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in July, it is now November and we are still waiting for a decision and a view from the Department. That is not acceptable.

Is the Minister of State aware that the NPWS is facing potential legal action and fines from the European Commission because of its failure to protect the corncrake? This bird is now extinct in the Shannon Callows because of the lack of action in regard to de-silting of the Shannon between Banaher and Meelick. All of the stakeholders except the NPWS have agreed that work needs to be done on that section of the river, and although the NPWS is responsible for protecting wading birds, including the corncrake, in the Shannon Callows, it is the one organisation that has impeded this work. Would the Minister of State not agree that the NPWS must review its policy in light of the impact it is having on the corncrake in that area, and also because its failure to carry out work on that section of the river is forcing the River Suck to travel north rather than south, thereby compounding the problem and the extent of flooding in the callows?

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is correct. The report was presented to the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, last July or August and, as far as I know, it is being considered. We are waiting for recommendations to emerge from the report. This is a very complex matter involving the flooding of the River Shannon. Before I ever came to this House I heard about the draining of the Shannon, which has been going on for a long time. There are many interested parties - the ESB, the OPW, local authorities, Bord na Móna and, under my Department, Waterways Ireland and the NPWS. All have different interests. The report was submitted in July and is being considered. This is something on which we cannot rush to judgment. Whatever we do, we must ensure it is the right action in the matters mentioned by the Deputy, whether these concern wildlife or anything else. We must make the right decision. This was going on before I ever came to the House but I am confident it will be addressed in a meaningful way before I leave it. I am not sure when that will be; only one man knows that.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I have a brief question. Many Deputies and Senators were invited to visit Athlone during the summer to see the Shannon flooding. The big question was whether there would be a lead role for the Office of Public Works and whether a single authority should take on the whole issue of flooding.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Of course the OPW will have a pivotal role, although I am saying that before the recommendations are made. There is also the ESB, which controls a great deal of the area around Ardnacrusha, as the Deputy knows well. I come from west of the Shannon and do not live by its banks but I know some of the difficulties and complexities involved. The matter is being pursued actively in the Department and I hope there will be recommendations in the not too distant future.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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I wish to ask two brief questions. The Office of Public Works is putting a proposal to the ESB and Waterways Ireland for a pilot project aimed at trying to reduce the water level north of the weir wall in Athlone and increasing the storage capacity at Lough Ree. Is the Minister of State in a position to give an assurance to the House that Waterways Ireland will facilitate, rather than impede, this initiative? A proposal was put to previous Ministers of State in the Department who held the heritage brief in respect of flooding the cutaway bogs north of Lough Ree. The report in this regard has been with the Department's heritage section for the past ten years. Is it not time someone examined its contents? The proposal it contains would at least provide for some attenuation during periods of severe flooding.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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The bodies to which the Deputy referred, Waterways Ireland, the OPW and the ESB, have different interests and priorities. The matters the Deputy mentioned are discussed regularly with Waterways Ireland which is a North-South body. Its next meeting is due to take place on 12 December. I am sure the points and concerns he has raised will be brought to its attention at that meeting, if not before.