River Shannon Protection Alliance to discuss water supply, storage and disposal with Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht

Among the key issues which will be addressed at tomorrow’s meeting are:

• providing an efficient infrastructure;
• administration and administration costs;
• alternative sources.

Committee Chairman Ciarán Lynch, TD said: “The Committee has identified water supply as a priority issue. The provision of water, conservation and water shortages are crucial concerns that we as a nation must deal with and the Committee is currently meeting with key stakeholders to get an overview and also a thorough understanding of the major issues in the water sector.

As part of our consultation process, we have already visited Garryhinch Bog, Co Laois and Co Offaly to see first-hand the proposals for construction of a reservoir and eco park. Under the plans put forward by Dublin City Council, the reservoir would supply 350 million litres of water a day to the Dublin region and serve the capital’s drinking water needs for 70 years.

Last month, a delegation from the Committee visited the proposed Loch Derg water extraction point on the river Shannon at Terryglass, Co Tipperary which would supply water to the planned reservoir. While many of the groups and individuals who met with the Delegation were opposed to the project in principle, not all were.  However, those who were not opposed to it in principle stated that if the project was to go ahead, it should not do so until unambiguous guarantees had been given as to the amount of water to be extracted, the times of the year at which it would be extracted and the procedures that would be put in place to shutdown the pipeline if the extraction of water caused unforeseen negative consequences. Accordingly, the Committee is very interested in examining this proposal in further detail at tomorrow’s meeting.

While there is no doubt that there is a pending problem with water supply in the greater Dublin area, any use of water from the Shannon region in order to address this problem could only be done if environmental and sustainability considerations are satisfied. Our visits were designed to obtain an in-depth understanding of the plans, get the views of all sides on the scheme and see how the proposals might fit into the need to address the greater water supply issue in Ireland in the future.

Tomorrow we will get the perspective of the River Shannon Protection Alliance and Environmental Management Services on the issue of providing adequate infrastructure to meet future water needs in general and plans to pump water from the Shannon in particular.

The evidence put before us tomorrow, as in previous meetings, will help inform the Committee’s report on the water supply and proposals which will be put to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.”

This meeting will take place on Tuesday, 8th November, in Committee Room 4, Leinster House 2000 at 2pm.

Committee proceedings can be followed live at:
http://www.oireachtas.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=/documents/livewebcast/Web-Live.htm&CatID=83&m=o

For further information please contact:

Ciaran Brennan,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2

P: +3531 618 3903
M: 086-0496518
F: +3531 618 4551

Committee Membership

Deputies:

Ciarán Lynch, Labour Party (Chairman)
Noel Coonan, Fine Gael (Vice-Chairman)
James Bannon, Fine Gael
Paudie Coffey, Fine Gael
Terence Flanagan, Fine Gael
Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, Fine Gael
Tony McLoughlin, Fine Gael
Patrick O’Donovan, Fine Gael
Brian Walsh, Fine Gael
Kevin Humphreys, Labour Party
Gerald Nash, Labour Party
Seán Kenny, Labour Party
Robert Troy, Fianna Fáil
Timmy Dooley, Fianna Fáil
Niall Collins, Fianna Fáil
Sandra McLellan, Sinn Féin
Dessie Ellis, Sinn Féin
Brian Stanley, Sinn Féin
Clare Daly, Socialist Party
Catherine Murphy, Independent
Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, Independent
 
Senators:
Cáit Keane, Fine Gael
Catherine Noone, Fine Gael
Labhrás Ó’Murchú, Fianna Fáil
Ned O’Sullivan, Fianna Fáil
Eamonn Coghlan, Independent