Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)

I can only speak? Okay. I thank the Minister of State for his genuine response and for bringing the human element into his response as well. I had read through the speech and I am glad that he blended our contributions into his response as an acknowledgement of the richness of the contributions that were made here today. This is only a start. This is opening a conversation. The conversation that was brought to the floor today in response to this amending Bill on Second Stage was around flooding and about the two floods we have now come to live with on the River Shannon, be it winter or summer. It was also about our responsibility to protect humans but also to protect our environment. Nobody wants to be reckless and it is to acknowledge we must work within the various frameworks.

The farmers are more than willing to play their part along the banks of the Shannon. When they speak to me they say, if they had one flood they could manage it, but it is the two floods that are catching them. That is very honest. We have to look at this. I have no doubt that advisers and the ESB are watching this today and I really hope they are listening in to my contribution. I am like a dog with a bone on this for the simple reason that this is very simple. I am saying I want to take out set levels. I want to review the set levels. I have not prescriptively said what set levels I want. One thing for certain is that the levels of 1934 and the levels in 2025 are not comparable because we have had a huge amount of peat extraction and a huge amount of stuff has gone into the basin of the Shannon. Therefore, the level has come up.

The ESB is only legislatively tasked with doing one thing and that is ensuring the levels are kept at the level that is in legislation. That means, at all times, we mark the bank of the Shannon. We will always bring it to the top but we will only increase our spill level when we are at a flood-risk mitigation spot. What that will then do is put pressure on the people downstream in Senator Dee Ryan's area. It will go through Parteen recklessly and through Ardnacrusha. Whatever we can get it out, we will get it out. Today, the spill level is about 400 cu. mm per second. However, in November, when we had heavy rain, we went to 607 cu mm. Therefore, they can spill. My Bill is about whether we can spill responsibly. Can we ensure that we review the levels, protect the environment, the biodiversity and the land, and ensure navigation happens?

There is an opportunity with this to say we can review and reflect. We have the science and the data. We do not need to turn on the tap extra heavy when we have had three weeks of it in late December, early January, when it will happen and when decisions need to be made. That can happen because we have ten-day weather forecasts. Last night, in Portumna, we had 6 cm of rainfall, but when you go further upstream they only had 3.2 cm. All the water that comes through the gates in Drumshambo or in Jamestown sluices has to come down to us in Portumna and it still has to go all the way today. The ESB is only tasked with measured it from Athlone down. All I am asking is that we have that honest conversation and just review the levels. Can we be more responsive to current-day mechanisms of technology where we can read the levels, increase our spill rate and put no lives, livelihoods or businesses at risk? That is the nature and the essence of it. It comes from that space. I do not want to undervalue how simple this is. I am just asking that we take it out, give us the conversation and we can find a solution in practical and real terms. As Senator Conway said, the summer is a good goal to set for ourselves. I thank the Minister of State.