Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 499 and 500 together.

The Government decided on 5 January 2016 to establish the Shannon Flood State Agency Co-ordination Working Group to enhance on-going co-operation across all of the State Agencies involved with the River Shannon.

The Group is comprised of the following membership and comes under the chairmanship of the Office of Public Works:

Office of Public Works

Local Authorities, represented by the City and County Management Association

Waterways Ireland

Electricity Supply Board

Inland Fisheries Ireland

Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government

Bord na Móna

Environment Protection Agency

Irish Water

The Attorney General’s Office and other Government Departments may also participate, as requested by the Chairman.

The Group has met on four occasions to date and has conducted an audit of the roles and responsibilities of State Agency organisations and has published its Shannon Flood Risk Work Programme for 2016. Its Work Programme which is monitored by the Group is available on the OPW website sets out co-ordinated actions and activities for the Shannon catchment. The Group has engaged in a programme of public consultation and has held a series of open days on its work programme. It is also considering in co-operation with the Attorney General’s Office the development of appropriate guidance that will set out more clearly the rights and responsibilities of non-statutory bodies in relation to watercourses.

I met the group on 12 July and got an update from each of the state agencies on their actions and activities for the Shannon Catchment. We also discussed the draft Shannon Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management Plan which was published for public consultation on 15 July. The CFRAM is the core strategy for addressing flood risk in the Shannon Catchment.

A report of progress by the Group was reported to the Cabinet Committee on Regional and Rural Affairs at its meeting on 27 June. The Group has not to date identified the need for any policy or legislative changes to support co-ordination to manage flood risk for the Shannon catchment. I asked the Group to consider any changes that it considers may assist with timely implementation of the CFRAM Flood Risk Management Plans. I will consider any proposals and report these to the Cabinet Committee.

I am satisfied that the Shannon Flood State Agency Co-ordination Working Group is focussed on ensuring the best possible level of co-ordination between the statutory bodies on the River Shannon and that it will deliver the highest level of efficiencies to add value to the Shannon CFRAM programme.