Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 205: To ask the Minister for Finance if legislation is needed to provide a single authority to oversee the management of the River Shannon and its tributaries; the way this new authority will be constituted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7856/10]

Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)
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A comprehensive management programme for the River Shannon is being addressed now through the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme under the direction of the Office of Public Works.

The CFRAM Programme underpins the essentials of the assessment of flood risk and the long-term planning risk management measures for the River Shannon catchment and other catchment areas throughout the country and includes capital, structural and non-structural measures. The CFRAM Programme is being delivered through the CFRAM Studies.

The CFRAM studies are comprehensive catchment-based studies, which focus on and identify areas at risk from flood events for a range of severities and to produce a prioritised plan of measures and actions for dealing with areas where the risk is significant.

The Shannon FRAM study, which is expected to commence in mid-2010, will involve consultation with all of the main stakeholders, including the public, the ESB, Waterways Ireland, National Parks and Wildlife Service and relevant Local Authorities.

The study will look at all options for dealing with areas of significant flood risk. The objective of this exercise is to determine relative roles and define relative responsibilities of all the main bodies involved with the Shannon with a view to ensuring that all flood risk factors are identified and managed in a coordinated way.

The CFRAM programme meets the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive and the Flood Directive, which provide for a framework for a coordinated approach to the management of the river catchment systems. The EU Floods Directive is in the process of being transposed in Irish Law at present and by which OPW will be appointed as the Competent Authority to meet the requirements of the Directive. This legislation will reinforce the role of OPW in coordinating the management of the CFRAM programme.