Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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276. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to launch a new scheme to dredge the River Shannon; the timeframe for such plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40673/16]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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Last winter, the Government took decisive action to support the existing plans in place to address flooding on the Shannon and established the Shannon Flood Risk State Agency Co-ordination Working Group to enhance ongoing co-operation of all State agencies involved with the River Shannon.

The Group is focused on ensuring the best possible level of co-ordination between all statutory bodies involved in flood risk management on the Shannon. It is solutions focused and designed to deliver the highest level of efficiencies to add value to the catchment flood risk assessment and management programme.

Through the course of its work, the Group has decided to trial the lowering of the lake levels in Lough Allen, and most recently on 2 December in Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim the Group took a major decision to consider developing a plan for a strategic maintenance programme on the River Shannon. It intends to bring together all of the relevant stakeholders to discuss, initiate and manage the development of this programme.

I am delighted that the Group, which is chaired by the OPW, has taken the decision to develop a plan for strategic maintenance works on the River Shannon. There have been many calls for a maintenance programme to be put in place for the Shannon. A planned maintenance programme for the Shannon would complement the Group’s Work Programme and the specific measures that are identified for the areas at risk in the Draft Shannon Flood Risk Management Plan.

The decisions taken by the Group to date clearly demonstrate that it is working well and is firmly focussed on finding practical solutions that will help reduce flood risk on the Shannon to the benefit of the communities along our largest river.