Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I am sure that everyone in the House is very familiar with the damage to businesses, homes and farmland caused along the Shannon last winter. We need to ensure that this never happens again. In my county, Offaly, we witnessed serious flooding in areas such as Banagher, Shannonbridge and Shannon Harbour. In the catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, report Banagher is listed as not being a significant flood risk and Shannon Harbour is considered a low risk. I saw the flooding in those areas and the damage done. Will the Minister of State ensure that the inaccuracies in the CFRAM report are corrected as soon as possible? We do not want false information going out and that report is not correct.

People all across the midlands are absolutely terrified of the prospect of further floods this year. They want to know what action has been taken to alleviate the risk to their homes, property and land. Many people were particularly concerned at revelations contained in a report published in April to the effect that there are serious issues surrounding the national programme for flood risk assessment. The report in question highlighted the fact that the steering group did not meet for a four-year period.

In January of this year, the European Investment Bank, EIB, announced a €200 million loan scheme that is being made available through the Office of Public Works. I welcome this scheme and the fact that 29 flood defence projects have been approved. However, with ten of the 29 projects approved for Cork, five for Dublin and a large proportion of the rest for other urban areas, there is very real concern that there has been a failure to direct funding towards neglected rural areas, such as Shannon Harbour, Shannonbridge and Banagher. Areas surrounding the River Shannon have been completely ignored in the allocation of EIB loan funds.

In May, Matt McCarthy, Sinn Féin Member of the European Parliament, MEP, met Jonathan Taylor, vice president of the EIB. Mr. Taylor clearly indicated that the EIB is open for business and willing to offer loans to additional Irish projects. It seems that the Government is dragging its feet on this issue once again. We have already witnessed a significant delay in the preparation of the Shannon flood risk management plan. Many fear that actions and decisions on foot of this plan are not realistically expected before the winter months.

Sinn Féin has been constructive on this issue. We have met with householders, farmers and business owners and members of the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, all along the Shannon and heard at first hand how it affected so many people's lives. We heard of their concerns and fears. We have put forward a Bill that would establish an agency with overall responsibility for the assessment of flood risk and flood defences along the River Shannon, for co-ordinating the work of key stakeholders in the region and for the preparation of a strategic plan for management of the river. Can the Minister advise of the measures that are in place to protect homes, businesses and farmlands along the River Shannon from flooding this winter?

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I want to start by reassuring communities living along the River Shannon that the Government is doing everything it can to prevent flooding along the Shannon this winter.

The core strategy for addressing the significant flood risks along the River Shannon is the Office of Public Works, OPW, catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, programme. Of the 300 areas for further assessment, AFAs, nationwide, there are 66 along the Shannon river basin district that have been assessed within the Shannon CFRAM study.

Draft flood risk management plans have been made available for public consultation, and the consultation period for the Shannon CFRAM study, which included a series of local public consultation events, closed on 23 September. The flood risk management plans will now be finalised, taking on board the comments received, and will include a prioritised list of feasible measures, both structural and non-structural, to address flood risk in an environmentally sustainable and cost-effective manner.

Building on past investment, the Government has demonstrated its support of flood relief by extending its commitment to provide €430 million to flood risk management between 2016 and 2021. The annual allocation for flood defence works will more than double, from €45 million to €100 million per annum. The OPW estimates that up to €1.2 billion in benefit has been derived from that investment to date in terms of 12,000 properties protected and flood damages and losses avoided. That is a major achievement, and it is the Government’s intention to continue to build on this major achievement and to prioritise investment in flood defence schemes.

Athlone experienced severe flooding last winter, and the situation could have been much worse but for the enormous efforts made by the local authority emergency response team assisted by volunteers from the local community. I am determined that residents and business owners in Athlone will not have to go through that experience again. It has been decided, therefore, to advance flood relief works for the town. The OPW and Westmeath County Council are working together on the development of a flood relief scheme for the town, and the OPW has agreed to fund the development and implementation of a viable scheme for Athlone based on the options identified in CFRAM. The works are estimated to cost approximately €6 million and are planned to commence in 2017. When completed, they will give protection to approximately 250 homes. Other major schemes along the Shannon are already under design and construction, including at Foynes and King's Island in Limerick and at Ennis Lower and Ennis South.

The OPW can provide funding to local authorities under the minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme to undertake minor works to address localised flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative areas. So far this year, 38 additional projects at a cost of €1.7 million along the Shannon have been approved by my office. These will provide important localised flood protection and mitigation.

Last winter, the Government took decisive action to support the existing plans in place to address flooding on the Shannon and established the Shannon flood risk State agency co-ordination working group to enhance ongoing co-operation across all the State agencies involved with the River Shannon, including ESB, Waterways Ireland, Bord na Móna, Inland Fisheries Ireland, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the OPW and the relevant local authorities. Its extensive work programme, published on the OPW website, highlights the current proactive and co-ordinated approach by all State agencies to flood risk management in the Shannon catchment. The working group is building on the existing work and commitment of all the State agencies involved in flood risk. The group is also focused on ensuring the best possible level of co-ordination between all statutory bodies involved in flood management on the Shannon, and is solutions focused and designed to deliver the highest level of efficiencies to add value to the CFRAM programme.

The group held three open days on its work programme to discuss the role and work of the group with the public, and met the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, to discuss and explore the approach being adopted to address its issues of concern. No later than this morning, the group met and discussed the benefits of possible measures to managing flood risk for the winter of 2016-2017.

I am pleased to announce that a decision has been taken by the group to trial the lowering of the lake levels in Lough Allen to help mitigate potential flood risk for this winter. From the analysis completed, this may have a positive impact on the extent of certain flood events that might occur during the winter. This is to be achieved through protocols being agreed between the OPW, the ESB and Waterways Ireland, with input from the relevant local authorities. The modelling and analysis completed shows that this action can only be done in specified conditions to avoid causing or exacerbating flooding downstream, and this trial will need to be carefully monitored. While the impact of this initiative might be small, it demonstrates the continued commitment of the agencies to work in a co-ordinated way to explore all measures that may benefit the communities along the River Shannon.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Thank you, Minister.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I have just one more paragraph to read. The group has today also agreed to evaluate the benefits from any short and medium-term programme of localised dredging and any future piloting to remove some pinch points along the Shannon. The group will discuss this at its next meeting which will be held in November.

I chair an interdepartmental flood policy co-ordination group, and I will shortly bring a report to Government from that group. The group is developing a range of policy initiatives to underpin the overall investment by the OPW in managing national flood risk.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Thank you, Minister.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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It is also considering a number of other prevention and mitigation measures for providing flood relief which may include schemes for individual property protection and voluntary home and farmyard relocation.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Thank you very much, Minister.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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Local authorities are designated as the lead agency for responding to severe weather events, including flooding. The emergency response plans, which were effective during the flood events last winter, will be reviewed to ensure a rapid and effective response.

I assure the House that the Government will continue to ensure measures to deal effectively with flooding through the development of the proactive CFRAM programme and plans and the continued significant investment in flood defence capital schemes will receive the highest priority from the Government. I thank the Acting Chairman for his patience.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I hope time will be added on to allow me give a response. I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response but I find it unsatisfactory. There can be no excuse for the delay in the drafting of a flood risk management plan for the Shannon region. I do not understand how the steering group on this issue failed to meet for a four-year period. The Government's response on this matter has been completely inadequate, and many people would agree with me on that. There are many frustrated people affected, and we need to work on this and move it along as quickly as possible.

Will the Minister of State advise me if the Government will consider the proposal put forward in the Bill published by Sinn Féin with respect to the establishment of a co-ordinated agency to deal with management of the River Shannon? There needs to be one agency involved because the current position is a mess and is not workable. As the Minister of State knows, the River Shannon touches 18 counties, and an effective co-ordinated response to flooding issues is almost impossible without an over-arching statutory agency. Will the Minister of State assure me if weirs along the River Shannon, particularly those at Ardnacrusha in Limerick and Meelick in County Galway, could be lowered or opened? He mentioned a weir in his response, but I would like to see those weirs lowered or opened as well.

I met representatives of the IFA as recently as last week with Matt Carthy MEP and they stressed that in addition to flood defences, we need a maintenance plan. We need to look at certain points along the River Shannon. In County Offaly, I urge the Minister of State to look at Banagher, Shannon Harbour and Shannonbridge. The IFA representatives stressed those points as well.

Will the Minister of State consider opening the weirs? It would increase the capacity of the River Shannon to hold more flood water should we be hit with a catastrophe similar to the one that occurred last year.

Will the Minister of State indicate whether the Government will seek additional supports from the European Union to bolster flood defences for rural areas and to ensure a maintenance programme is put into action as soon as possible?

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I have asked my officials to make contact with Offaly County Council to review the case of Banagher. Dredging on the Shannon came up this morning at our group meeting and all parties are now going to look at it, both from the point of view of what we can do in the short term and what we can do in the long term. Waterways Ireland is reviewing some of the pinch points so that we can find out more information. Some costs are being bandied around and I want to get a true picture of them. We may have to take one or two of them out in a pilot scheme to see what that would cost.

We will not solve the problems with flooding from the Shannon in one winter. The Deputy referred to the number of county councils along the catchment but a single agency will not do anything this winter. I assure the Deputy, though, and people who live along the Shannon, that I will do everything I can. The Taoiseach attended the meeting we held this morning and that is a reflection of how important the issue is to us.

In terms of investment, we have €430 million to spend over the period 2015 to 2021, and this year we will spend approximately €50 million. In two years' time that figure will have been cranked up to €100 million. There is money but we also need to overcome the challenges to getting work done throughout the country. People might ask what is happening but, by the end of this year, 12 major flood relief schemes will be under construction. Last year, there were four so we are cranking it up and I assure Deputies that I will keep the pressure on.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I gave the Minister considerable latitude on account of its importance for the areas concerned.