Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. This matter relates to flooding in the Shannon region. As the Minister is undoubtedly aware, Athlone and the surrounding area suffered terribly from flooding last year. On 4 December 2015, it became very obvious to people in the town that we were in very big trouble. Thanks to the hard work and perseverance of home owners, county council staff, the Army, gardaí and over 100 volunteers, almost all of the houses in the area were protected. There was much talk back then about what needed to done and what could be done. We all know that the issues associated with the River Shannon are very complex and that there are too many agencies involved. All of these agencies have a valid input but nobody is taking responsibility. Back then at a meeting in the Sheraton Hotel in Athlone, I asked the Taoiseach to consider appointing a Minister with responsibility for flooding within the OPW. As they say, the rest is history and the Minister of State is here today. The Taoiseach set up the Shannon flood risk State agency co-ordination working group, which consists of members from the ESB, Waterways Ireland, Inland Fisheries, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Bord na Móna, the OPW, Irish Water, local authorities and the Departments of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government. It is obvious that there are too many agencies involved.

We have reached the end of October 2016 and I have yet to see any flood relief schemes in place in Athlone or the surrounding area. Last year, many politicians did a great deal of talking about all the things that the Government was not doing. The Minister of State made a big announcement in Athlone recently - an event to which he forgot to invite me - in respect of a €6 million package for work on defence walls, embankments and floodgates. These are all very welcome but they had been announced previously. It had always been planned that money would be spent on these issues after the catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, report. There is nothing new in any of this. Eleven months on, nothing has happened. People are still living in fear and dread of a repeat of last year. People still have no insurance. Some elderly people are still worried sick about being trapped in their homes again. They do not need big announcements, they need action.

I have consistently said that the Minister of State and the Department must listen to the people who live along the river. Nobody knows the river like the locals. Locals believe that some remedial works involving dredging could have been carried out along the river which might have alleviated the floods. It is obvious that if there is dirt in a drain, it will interfere with the flow of water. If the dirt is cleared, the water can flow. The same can be said for the river. I know the Minister of State has conflicting views about dredging. On 20 September, he said that there was no evidence that dredging was needed in the Shannon. However, on 20 October, he told the Dáil that localised dredging could be on the agenda. The farmers and locals along the River Shannon do not have conflicting views on dredging.Like me, they believe and have been calling for dredging for a long time now.

The cut at Meelick needs to be cleared as well. Some clearing work was done years ago but it was never finished. We all know that the water in the river will find its course. If the way is blocked, the water will find another route. Another thing that needs to be looked at is the water level in Lough Ree. The levels should be brought back to the levels of the lough in 1979. The levels were raised in 1979 temporarily for navigation purposes, but they were never put back.

All these things could not be done before now because too many agencies were involved. Now, we have one person responsible for the situation, the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy Canney. It is now time for action to be taken. It is not good enough to tell people that the works promised in the announcement by the Minister of State will take place next year. Fingers crossed, the weather will remain dry, although we had a dry October last year too. I thank the Minister of State sincerely for coming to the Seanad to respond to this Commencement matter. Since it is my first time to encounter the Minister of State in the House, I wish him well in his portfolio.