Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

180. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will arrange for the Office of Public Works to carry out an assessment of all rivers in County Clare with a view to introducing a programme of river dredging and maintenance through the provision of multi-annual funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45066/15]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Drainage Districts are areas where drainage schemes to improve land for agricultural purposes were constructed under the Arterial Drainage Act, 1925. 170 Drainage District Schemes were established, covering 4,600km of channel. The statutory duty of maintenance for these schemes lies with the Local Authorities concerned.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) carries out its own programme of Arterial Drainage Maintenance to a total of 11,500km of river channel and approximately 730km of embankments. These are arterial drainage schemes completed by the OPW under the Arterial Drainage Acts 1945 and 1995, whose purpose was primarily to improve the drainage of agricultural lands to enhance production. This typically involved lowering or widening river beds to facilitate the drainage and discharge of neighbouring lands and drainage channels. While not the primary purpose of the Schemes, they did also provide enhanced conveyance capacity where they passed through towns, villages and dispersed rural communities that in turn has reduced the amount of flooding that could occur in these areas.

While new Arterial Drainage Schemes are no longer being undertaken, the OPW has a statutory duty to maintain the completed schemes in proper repair and in an effective condition. The annual maintenance programme typically involves some clearance of vegetation and removal of silt build-up on an average five-yearly cycle.

The term dredging is sometimes used to describe such channel maintenance operations. Maintenance of channels is carried out using suitably rigged hydraulic excavators which remove the build up of water entrained silt and vegetation from the channel bed thus restoring the original channel conveyance capacity to the standard of the completed scheme. It does not involve any further deepening or widening of the existing channel.

For channels impinging on or within Natura 2000 Sites assessments under the Habitat Regulations are undertaken in advance of the works and for many schemes a five yearly environmental assessment is now place. OPW maintenance operations are carried out in accordance with OPW Environmental Management Protocols and Standard Operating Procedures.

Local flooding issues are a matter, in the first instance, for each Local Authority to investigate and address, and County Councils may carry out flood mitigation works using their own resources. The OPW operates the Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme. This purpose of this scheme is to provide funding to Local Authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative areas. The scheme generally applies to relatively straightforward cases where a solution can be readily identified and achieved in a short time frame.

The Government's core strategy for addressing those areas at most significant risk and impact from flooding is the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme. There are 300 locations nationwide being assessed under the Programme and Plans that will consider all feasible options to manage the flood risk in each area are due to be available for public consultation in mid 2016 and completed by the end of 2016.