Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. It is lovely to have him back in the Seanad. I rise to welcome this Bill and to commend my colleagues, Senators Rabbitte and Paul Daly, for the work they have done. Senator Rabbitte in particular has been pursuing this since 2017, but, unfortunately, it has fallen foul of Governments falling and the election periods that followed. She has been pursuing this issue doggedly for many years because she understands not only how important it is to those in her area in Galway but also how important it is to so many of us who live along the whole course of the Shannon and along the banks of the lake. The fact that there are three Limerick people here today speaks volumes for how integrated the whole water system is and how much of an impact a change at one point has on the rest of us downstream.As a Limerick woman, I am wedded to the Shannon. The majestic Shannon is woven into our identity. When we think of it, we think of King John's Castle and the beautiful bridges. Being from Castleconnell, a village on the river, I have grown up with it. All my family members enjoy it. I learned how to swim there. My swimming lessons were in the River Shannon, not in a swimming pool at school. My brothers and children row on it and continue to use it for all kinds of recreational activities. We are very close to it and appreciate it.

We too have suffered from the floods over the years. In November 2009, there were winter floods. Over Christmas in 2015, the floods came through Montpelier, O'Briensbridge, Castleconnell, Cloonlara and even as far as Limerick city into the King's Island area. People's kitchens were flooded. It had a huge impact and huge damage was caused. However, we are also aware of the changes in the water levels during summer periods and when the weather is dryer. That is when we notice the flow on the lower Shannon reducing. It is of significant concern to us, particularly given the proposals we have - and rightly so - to supply water to the greater Dublin area and the proposals that are advancing for the Shannon pipeline.

Our concerns are on economic and environmental grounds. Members may not all be aware that all of County Limerick and parts of County Clare get their water supply from the lower Shannon. It passes my front door and goes down to Lisnagry to a waterworks point where the treatment and distribution is done. It is critical for us in Limerick and the surrounding areas that the water levels coming from the Parteen Basin are maintained, not only to ensure we have the water supply we need today, but also so we do not restrict our ability and desire as a regional city to grow and shoulder some of the burden of congestion and overpopulation in Dublin and on the eastern seaboard.

In raising that point, I also raise the point that there are environmental concerns. My village was known traditionally for eel and salmon fishing. With the opening of Ardnacrusha, the flow of the river reduced dramatically and the levels of a lot of those species dropped dramatically. Great work is being done by many groups, including the Castleconnell River Association, to address those issues and clean up the tributaries that lead into the Shannon in my part of the world in order to help those species to thrive. However, we have to recognise that a reduced flow or an unregulated flow to the lower Shannon could further affect these species and our ecology in the area.

I am therefore glad to have heard the points and questions raised today by Senator P.J. Murphy and Senator Noonan about opening a conversation about Ardnacrusha. It is a project we are proud of in the mid-west. However, we need to ask whether, given the opportunity to develop vast amounts of renewable energy on our west coast, the time has come to consider, in a planned manner, changes to Ardnacrusha in support of water supply, ecology and economic development in other parts of the region.