Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his work in the Department. His passion for the job was highlighted by Senator Cummins and borne out in a recent television interview about the legal logjam that has resulted in the scheme to which Senator Murphy referred being held up.

I welcome the motion put forward by Senator Garvey and other Green Party Members. It is a matter now of action. In my county, Longford, the county development plan is being discussed at a council meeting today. When you look at the maps every six years, it is noticeable there are massive changes in terms of there being more areas that are prone to flooding compared with the previous map. That struck me as I was looking again at the maps last night. Unless we take action, that situation is only going to get worse as the years go on.

The River Shannon traverses the whole western part of my county. There are many factors that have caused the flooding there; it is not just down to rain. We have many changed surfaces that have affected the ability of rainfall to sink into the soil. It is a combination of climate change, the human footprint we have left on our landscape and the granting of planning permission to build houses in areas that should have been flood zones. We saw the consequences of the latter recently when we were in Athlone with the Minister of State.

In February 2020, according to Met Éireann, there was 119 mm of rainfall around the Shannon area, which is nearly four times the usual amount for that time of year. Those living along the Shannon in areas close to me, such as Clondara and Tarmonbarry, were left to deal with rising waters. The first time this happened, ten years ago, the area was submerged in several feet of water. As a result, many people were left stranded, not just residents but also farmers, with a huge amount of meadow and grazing lands under water. It is important to thank the local members of the Civil Defence and the Army for the work they have done during times of flooding in the various towns where people were stranded. They took food and other goods to them, including fodder for animals.

People living along the tributaries of the river are also suffering. While a great deal of work has gone into protecting towns along the river, for good reason, we must also remember the towns and lands alongside the tributaries into our main rivers. In February 2020, 6,000 acres were under water along the Shannon.The people who live along those tributaries also suffer. Therefore, I fully agree with Senator Murphy's proposal to have one authority to deal with the River Shannon rather than the multiple authorities currently, A sum of €7 million has been allocated to flood relief schemes. I ask the Minister of State for an update on the project in terms of the removal of pinch points and the various constrictions on the Shannon Callows? It is an area that we visited a number of months ago with him

When I first entered politics in 2009 there were many intercounty drainage committees and schemes, which worked together to make sure that the various counties within counties and crossing counties were drained. However, in 2014, many of these committee were abolished, which was a negative move. I would like them re-established or in another forum with local authority members progressing for their local area.

I wish to highlight that funding has not been put aside by local authorities to clean rivers within their areas. For example, the River Camlin is in my county flows from Granard in north Longford and traverses the county before entering the River Shannon at Clondra. Only €20,000 has been allocated for all of the drainage of the river. It took between eight and nine years of funding to do the river once. That is only one river, but now it is as bad as ever. More pressure needs to be put on or more funding given to local authorities to ensure these schemes are done more regularly. Every day as I travel along these rivers I see trees growing along the side of them that block the flow of water thus leading to lands being flooded, etc.

I compliment the Minster of State on his passion for the job. I know that he will be successful and wish him well. I thank the Green Party Members for tabling the motion and I fully support it.