Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael)
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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.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I thank Senator McFadden for the opportunity to respond to the questions she has raised. I will give the House an update on the actions in respect of flooding along the Shannon.

The core strategy for addressing the significant flood risk along the River Shannon is the Office of Public Works catchment flood risk assessment and management programme. Of the 300 areas for further assessment nationwide, 26 are in the Shannon river basin district. These have been addressed within the Shannon CFRAM study. Draft flood risk management plans have been made available for public consultation. The consultation period for the Shannon CFRAM study closed on 23 September and included a series of local public consultation events. The flood risk management plans will now be finalised. The plans will take on board the comments received and will include a prioritised list of feasible measures, 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 allocation for flood defences 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 the investment to date, with 12,000 properties protected and flood damages and losses avoided. This 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 far worse but for the extraordinary efforts made by the local authority emergency response team and assisted by volunteers from the local community. I am determined that residents and business owners in Athlone should not have to go through that experience again. It has been decided, therefore, to advance the flood relief schemes 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 the Shannon CFRAM report. The works are estimated to cost approximately €6 million and are planned to commence in 2017. When completed, the project will provide protection to approximately 250 homes.

Other major schemes along the Shannon are already under design and construction, including those at Foynes and Kings 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 with 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 of all State agencies involved with the River Shannon, including ESB, Waterways Ireland, Bord na Mona, Inland Fisheries Ireland, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, OPW and all the relevant local authorities. The extensive work programme, published on the OPW website, highlights the current proactive and co-ordinated approach by all State agencies to flood risk management on 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 focused on ensuring the best possible level of co-ordination between all statutory bodies involved in flood management on the Shannon. It is solutions focused and designed to deliver the highest level of efficiencies to add value to the catchment flood risk assessment and management programme.

The group has held three open days on its work programme to discuss the role and work of the group with the public, and has met representatives of the Irish Farmers Association to discuss and explore the approach being adopted to address their issues of concern. The group met last on Tuesday, 18 October. It discussed the benefits of possible measures to manage flood risk for winter 2016-17. Arising from the meeting, a decision was 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 move may have a small but 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, ESB and Waterways Ireland with input from the relevant local authorities. The modelling and analysis completed shows that this action can only be executed in specified conditions to avoid causing or exacerbating flooding downstream and the trial will need to be carefully monitored. While the impact of this initiative may 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. The group has also agreed to evaluate the benefits from any short or medium-term programme of localised dredging and any future piloting to remove pinch points along the Shannon. The group will discuss this evaluation and progression with the lake levels trial at its next meeting to be held at the end of October.

I chair an interdepartmental flood policy co-ordination group and shortly I will bring a report of the group to Cabinet. The group is developing a range of policy initiatives to underpin the overall investment by OPW in managing flood risk. It is also considering a number of other prevention and mitigation measures for providing flood relief and may include schemes for individual property protection and voluntary home and farmyard relocation.

Local authorities are designated as the lead agencies for responding to severe weather events, including flooding. The emergency response plans, which were effective during the flood events last winter, have been reviewed to ensure a rapid and effective response if similar events occur this winter. One important aspect of flood risk management in future, in addition to the OPW flood defence solutions, will be to raise the awareness of flood risk and encourage people, businesses and communities to take action to protect themselves and their properties.

The office of emergency planning is responsible for managing the Be Winter Ready campaign, a Government information campaign. The office is actively planning the launch of this year's campaign on 9 November 2016. In conjunction with the OPW, a specific Be Winter Ready public information leaflet on flooding has been prepared. It brings together information already available from various sources, including the OPW flood preparation website, www.flooding.ie, and provides practical advice for homes, business and farms in the event of farm flooding.

I assure Senator McFadden and the Seanad that the Government will continue to ensure that measures to deal effectively with flooding will receive the highest priority and attention now and in future. This will happen through the development of the proactive CFRAM programme and associated plans as well as the continued significant investment in flood defence capital schemes.

Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the moneys. Those moneys were made available before, although I do not doubt the Government's commitment. I was smack bang in the middle of all of it last year when Athlone flooded. I was out, day and night, like others and several Ministers came down to us. I am aware of the Government's commitment. I welcome the remarks of the Minister of State about local dredging in some parts. I also welcome the consideration of lowering Lough Allen. These are remedial works, but I wish they had been carried out before now because people have been talking about this for a long time. At the same time, I welcome the moves.

I also welcome the Be Winter Ready campaign and the information on the website and so on. I have another concern in respect of people living in rural areas, including farmers outside Athlone and further downstream.Is there any possibility of considering a grant to support them to protect their homes themselves with flood defences? Perhaps the Minister of State would examine that. I thank him for coming to the House to discuss this.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I wish to clarify a number of matters because people continue to say that nothing is being done. By the end of this year there will be 12 major flood relief schemes under construction compared with four in 2015. I agree that there has been much talk about the Shannon and very little action. I assure the Senator that it is my intention to ensure we deliver as quickly as possible.

The important point about Athlone, which might be missed, is that we are advancing those works. We are not waiting for the CFRAM study to be completed. We have brought forward the scheme for Foynes and that is under construction. Works are taking place and they will continue to happen. I pay tribute to all the stakeholders along the Shannon who continue to co-operate with me in trying to deliver as much as we can as quickly as possible.

We can do our best about flooding but we cannot control rainfall. We just must be as prepared as possible for it. On the Senator's point about farmers in isolated rural areas, there are a number of schemes which I mentioned, such as the individual property protection scheme or the minor work schemes, for which the local authorities can apply. A great deal of work has been done in that sphere so far, amounting to €1.7 million. In addition, more than €5 million has been spent on dredging works on tributaries to the Shannon. Works are being carried out continually.