asked the Minister for Finance if the Board of Works engineers have sent in any recent report as to the drainage of the Brick and Cashen Rivers, County Kerry, and, if so, what is the nature of the report; and further if he is aware that a large portion of the countryside adjoining these rivers is covered with water for the greater part of the year, and that the land is almost useless in consequence, and if, in the circumstances, steps will be taken to have the drainage of these rivers expedited.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Drainage of Kerry Rivers.
Engineering surveys and a detailed valuation of the Brick-Cashen proposed drainage district have been made and a tentative scheme prepared. The results show that the cost of such a scheme would be well over £100,000, but the maintenance of the completed district would be so expensive that it is doubtful whether it would not exceed the annual value of the improvement effected to the benefited lands.
The outfall to the district is through a narrow neck, blocked by a rock shoal and subject to tidal influences. The removal of this shoal would be difficult and costly, and the cost of keeping the channel clear would depend upon the extent to which siltage and deposits of material as a result of storms or littoral drift would be offset by the scouring effect of the discharging water— a highly speculative matter.
The Commissioners of Public Works are of opinion that the scheme is not one which could safely be undertaken under the provisions of the Arterial Drainage Act, 1925, and further consideration of it must be deferred until it is found possible to provide more satisfactory machinery for dealing with the problem of large outfalls than is afforded by the present drainage code.