Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. As the Minister of State is well aware, the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss has completed its work, and I want to acknowledge and commend the remarkable 100 individuals involved who, over the seven meetings from May to January of this year, produced a report which includes 159 agreed recommendations from its 99 members. It is crucial for all of us, as Members of the Oireachtas, to thoroughly study the report and consider its recommendations, and for the Government to take decisive action upon them. The next phase will be that the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action will conduct meetings and prepare its own report. I hope the committee will receive the necessary resources to do that.

We must acknowledge that time is of the essence. We find ourselves in the midst of a sixth mass extinction event, and waiting for another report is a luxury we cannot afford. It is paramount that the Minister of State and the State take prompt, decisive and urgent action to address biodiversity loss and restoration, providing leadership in safeguarding for Ireland's biodiversity for future generations as emphasised in the report's recommendations. One of those recommendations - I am sure the Minister of State is aware of it and has read the report - refers to the Arterial Drainage Act 1945 as a prime example of where the State should take action. A staggering 98% of members of the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss agree that this outdated Act no longer serves its purpose, and that it requires a thorough review and updating to account for biodiversity, the climate crisis and actual adequate flood management because it is not fit for purpose.

The Irish Wildlife Trust has tirelessly exposed the folly of the Arterial Drainage Act. In fact, in a concise blog post called "The war on rivers", Pádraic Fogarty aptly states that the arterial drainage programme has devastated river ecosystems, robbing them of their fundamental ecological function. Under the Arterial Drainage Act, the Office of Public Works, OPW, is mandated to maintain over 11,000 km of river channels in Ireland. Unfortunately, the so-called maintenance results in the destruction of entire river systems. According to section 37 of the Arterial Drainage Act 1945, the OPW is legally obliged to keep all rivers, embankments and urban flood defences in proper repair and effective condition. As a result, the OPW employs heavy machinery, tearing out trees, decimating fish spawning grounds and transforming rivers into canal-like structures filled with debris.

Ceasing the arterial drainage works would not only benefit biodiversity but would also reduce the risk of flooding in our towns and villages. Flood management strategies have evolved significantly since 1945, and I believe the Minister of State would accept that we have moved on since the 1940s. Recent research, even by our nearest neighbours in Britain, demonstrates that nature-based approaches like "slow the flow" can provide a win-win solution for both biodiversity and flood prevention. What we need now is a law that is fit for purpose, one that effectively addresses the biodiversity and climate crisis and works harmoniously with people and nature.

I urge the Minister of State to outline the steps that are being taken to review the Arterial Drainage Act and to confirm that the Government will act on the recommendation of the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss report. This is not the first time I have raised concerns I have with how the OPW treats nature and has often shown contempt for the law. I have raised the case of Emo Court, where the OPW actually broke the law numerous times and was never held to account. In another investigation which is particularly relevant to the Arterial Drainage Act, the Irish Wildlife Trust found that the OPW destroyed a kilometre of the Newport river in County Tipperary, a part of the lower River Shannon special area of conservation. Again, it faced no sanction whatsoever.

There are serious issues at stake here, so the question for the Minister of State is whether he agrees with the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. Does he agree that engineering, flood management and science have moved on since the 1940s and, therefore, the Arterial Drainage Act is no longer fit for purpose? If so, what steps will he take to review and update it?

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

By way of background, state intervention in addressing the flooding of lands and the improvement of same by drainage, principally for agricultural use, commenced with the passing of the first Drainage Act in 1842. For the next century, schemes of drainage works were carried out in over 200 drainage districts to improve over 200,000 ha of land. Approximately 170 of those drainage districts remain in existence. Maintenance of these is a statutory responsibility of the relevant local authority.

Following the passing of the Arterial Drainage Act 1945, the OPW was tasked with carrying out a programme of large-scale arterial drainage schemes on a catchment basis. Between 1948 and 1992, the OPW implemented 34 catchment arterial drainage schemes and five estuarine embankment schemes. Investment by the State through the OPW in the programme of catchment arterial drainage schemes and estuarine embankment schemes was bolstered by significant investment through the Department of Agriculture in improving land drainage for food production under the 1949 land project scheme and successor funding initiatives. There are no plans to undertake further such large-scale arterial drainage schemes.

On the beneficial objectives served, the arterial drainage schemes progressed under the 1945 Act are providing drainage outfall for 242,800 ha of agricultural lands. Importantly, there has been significant development in these areas since the schemes were completed. The land drainage schemes now also provide a level of protection from flooding to property, infrastructure and communities, including in excess of 21,000 properties, nearly 2,500 km of roads and 77 towns and villages. In order to preserve the beneficial objectives served by the schemes that have been completed under the 1945 Act, the OPW has a statutory duty under section 37 of the Act to maintain the schemes in proper repair and effective condition. Failure to do so would result in an increased flood risk to benefiting areas and communities and, as I said, 77 towns and villages and over 21,000 properties.

The maintenance of OPW drainage schemes has evolved significantly over the past 20 years, driven primarily by environmental legislation such as the birds and habitats directives and the water framework directive. Arterial drainage maintenance works are carried out in accordance with the law and the relevant legislation through a range of environmental assessments, including strategic environmental assessments, appropriate assessments and ecological assessments, supported by widespread stakeholder consultation. The OPW, in partnership with Inland Fisheries lreland and other stakeholders, has developed environmental drainage maintenance procedures to mitigate potential environmental impacts on rivers and streams which are maintained by the OPW for the purpose of land drainage. The OPW environmental guidance, which is available on our website, is a practical handbook that brings lessons learned from environmental problem-solving, enabling ongoing improvements in environmental performance.

The continued requirement for ongoing drainage of such lands is being questioned in light of environmental concerns regarding the impact of such schemes, including, but not exclusively, those of the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. This is reflected in the call for a review of the Arterial Drainage Act, which was a recommendation in the report of the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss published in April 2023. The Senator has raised an important issue. It is clear that there are many views regarding the programme of arterial drainage maintenance being undertaken by the OPW. The views of the nearly 22,000 property owners affected will be among them.

While there are calls to cease arterial drainage to progress a number of cross-cutting environmental objectives, there are also calls from others, of all parties including the Senator's party, to increase the maintenance activities being carried out in light of flood risks. It is also important to note that climate change will increase the flood risk as well. Options to reverse arterial drainage schemes and for ceasing arterial drainage maintenance for lands currently benefiting from such maintenance must be informed by land use policy.In this regard, the land use review provides an appropriate mechanism to identify the existing and future requirements for land drainage.

I have written to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, as the co-leaders of the land use review, requesting that the matter be considered in this context. The land use review will provide clarity regarding the future national drainage requirements, having regard to a broad range of policy goals, including agriculture, flood risk mitigation, climate action, biodiversity and water quality. This will inform the consideration of any proposed changes to arterial drainage practices and any associated legislative changes to the Arterial Drainage Act, having regard to all potential benefits and impacts.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

For some reason, the Minister of State seems to think that a review of the Arterial Drainage Act means a complete cessation of all flood management works but that is just scaremongering. It is the same type of scaremongering that we are seeing with regard to the nature restoration law by the European People's Party group in Brussels. What we are talking about is a review of the Act so that it is fit for purpose and protects properties, towns and villages while also protecting our biodiversity.

The Minister of State said that the OPW carries out works in compliance with environmental legislation but the evidence before our eyes is to the contrary. The OPW is regularly in breach of both EU and national environmental legislation. What we need is an OPW that respects the law as well as flood management and land use systems that are fit for purpose and protect homeowners, villages and towns, but also protect biodiversity.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

If the Senator is looking for evidence, I suggest she look at Bandon, Clonakilty, Clonmel and Waterford, to name a few places, where this terrible organisation to which she refers, the OPW, which seems to know nothing about what it is doing, as far as the Senator is concerned, has alleviated the scourge of flooding-----

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

It breaks the law.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I did not interrupt the Senator. It has alleviated the scourge of flooding for tens of thousands of people. I know the Senator has a particular gripe against the OPW but I hope that is not reflected in her party's policies, particularly in rural constituencies. The people that I and the Acting Chairman represent, the landowners and property owners who are beneficiaries of the work the OPW does under the Arterial Drainage Act, would have something to say about that.

Any review will obviously take biodiversity loss into consideration. We are not flat-earthers. On behalf of the men and women who work for the OPW, I resent the suggestion the Senator has made again today that the OPW is a bunch of lawbreakers. If there is particular-----

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I have the proof. I have the proof and it has been printed in the newspapers. If it is not true, the OPW would have taken a case against-----

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I did not interrupt the Senator and I do not know why she is getting so hot and bothered.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The OPW breached the law and was not prosecuted.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Senator should let me finish.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That is why I am getting so hot and bothered about it.

Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Please have some respect for the Minister of State's reply.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Senator Boylan is a Member of our national Parliament. If she has evidence that someone has broken the law-----

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I brought the evidence to the Department.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

-----there is an appropriate channel through which she can deal with that-----

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

On a point of order-----

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

-----instead of coming in here and rubbishing the reputation of the men and women who are out there alleviating flooding for people.

Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We are out of time.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

On a point of order-----

Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We are out of time.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This is grossly unfair to public servants up and down the country.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

On a point of order, I have the evidence-----

Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We are out of time.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I have it from the Office of the Information Commissioner that it recommended a prosecution against the OPW and the Minister of State knows that. The Minister of State knows that. He knows I have the evidence.