Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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464. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the statutory body responsible for the maintenance of rivers here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2310/16]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Responsibility for the maintenance of our rivers and waterways is shared between a range of statutory bodies and local riparian landowners. Under the Arterial Drainage Acts 1945 and 1995, the Office of Public Works (OPW) has statutory responsibility for the maintenance of rivers on which it has executed works since the 1945 Act. These arterial drainage schemes had as their primary purpose the improvement of drainage on agricultural lands. This typically involved lowering or widening river beds to facilitate the drainage and discharge of neighbouring lands and drainage channels. 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.

Additionally, Drainage Districts are areas where drainage schemes to improve land for agricultural purposes were constructed under the Arterial Drainage Acts from 1842 up to 1943. When a subsequent scheme covered the same ground as one of the earlier schemes, the previous Drainage District was abolished. Of the 293 schemes carried out, 170 remain and the statutory duty of maintenance for these schemes rests with the relevant Local Authorities.

Waterways Ireland, a North/South Implementation Body, manages, maintains, develops and promotes over 1000km of inland navigable waterways principally for recreational purposes. The waterways under the remit of the body are the Barrow Navigation, the Erne System, the Grand Canal, the Lower Bann, the Royal Canal, the Shannon-Erne Waterway and the Shannon Navigation.

The OPW is the responsible authority for coordinating the development and implementation of policy on the management of flood risk in Ireland. The Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme is its core strategy for addressing areas at potentially significant risk from flooding. The Programme is focussing on 300 Areas for Further Assessment (AFAs) identified as being at potentially significant risk of flooding and this is the principal vehicle for implementing the EU Floods Directive and national flood policy. Implementation of this Directive is being coordinated with the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive

Local flooding issues are a matter, in the first instance, for each Local Authority to investigate and address, and they may carry out flood mitigation works using their own resources. The OPW operates the Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme. The 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.

From a water quality perspective, the key EU directive is the EU Water Framework Directive which requires all member states to protect and improve water quality in all waters so that good ecological status is achieved by 2015 or, at the latest, by 2027. This objective is to be supported through implementation of successive river basin management plans (RBMPs). The RBMPs describe the measures planned to protect and improve Ireland’s water environment covering rivers, lakes, groundwater, transitional (estuaries) and coastal waters. The first plans were completed in 2010 covering the period to 2015; the second planning cycle for the period 2015-2021 is now underway but will not be completed until end-2017.

In June 2015, I published a consultation document on Significant Water Management Issues in Ireland. This document provided an overview of the current status of our waters and outlined the challenges ahead and sought views on what are considered to be the significant water management issues. The submissions received during this consultation are currently being examined and will be reflected in the development of the draft RBMPs.