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

735. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will give consideration to the introduction of an annual river maintenance scheme in each county to be run in conjunction with local authorities and involving farmers and land owners with a view to addressing the increasing issue of flooding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1092/17]

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

736. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will give consideration to the introduction of an annual river maintenance scheme in each county to be run in conjunction with local authorities and involving farmers and land owners with a view to addressing the increasing issue of flooding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1093/17]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 735 and 736 together.

The Office of Public Works is empowered under the Arterial Drainage Act, 1945 to maintain only those schemes carried out under this Act. Each year the OPW carries out work to approximately 2,000 km of channels and about 200 structures around the country as part of its ongoing and rolling arterial drainage maintenance programme. While the average cycle of maintenance is generally in the range of 4 to 7 years, the OPW does routinely inspect all channels and structures that it has maintenance responsibility for. The Work Programme for 2017, laying out what schemes and channels are due for maintenance this year, has already been finalised. Maintenance of all drainage schemes carried out under earlier Acts, known as Drainage Districts, is the responsibility of the relevant Local Authority.

The Office of Public Works operates a Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme. This administrative Scheme's eligibility criteria, including a requirement that any measures are cost beneficial, are published on the OPW website at www.opw.ie.It is open to Local Authorities to submit a funding application under this Scheme. Any application received will be considered in accordance with the overall availability of resources for flood risk management and the scheme's eligibility criteria, available on the OPW website.

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 and manage the development of this programme.

Any 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.