It is not easy to deduce from the wording of Deputy McQuillan's motion whether he had any particular Department in mind when he gave notice of it. The motion states:—
"That Dáil Éireann is of the opinion that ameliorative measures of a permanent nature for the relief of farmers in the flooded area of the Shannon Valley should be initiated immediately by the Government."
That might equally appropriately be directed to the Office of Public Works, to the Department of Lands or to the Government as a whole. Deputy McQuillan and many other Deputies who have spoken on this matter seem to have come to the conclusion that the particular problem of Shannon flooding below Athlone is one for measures which can best be carried out by, say, the Department of Lands or the Department of Agriculture rather than by the engineers of the Office of Public Works. The magnitude of this problem seems to have percolated to the minds of those who have given it any thought—that no adequate protection of the farmers in that stretch of the Shannon can be achieved at any figure of cost which any sensible person could recommend.
I think Deputy MacEoin was quite unfair when he suggested that there had been neglect and unnecessary delay on the part of the present Government in dealing with this matter. It was the previous Government, of which he was a Minister, which invited an American expert to come to Ireland to investigate the Shannon problem. On the 20th August, 1956, the final report of Mr. Louis E. Rydell was received. That report was not submitted to the Government until the 17th April, 1957 and, as Deputy MacEoin knows, the Fianna Fáil Government was then installed. The report was considered by the Government on the 26th April, 1957, and it was decided that the report should be published. Approval was given to the proposal of the Minister for Finance that a preliminary engineering investigation of Mr. Rydell's suggestions for additional lake storage, river diversions and Shannon improvements, should be undertaken.
On the 2nd May, 1957, the decision of the Government was conveyed to the Commissioners of Public Works by a minute of the Department of Finance on that date. Hydrometric work and devaluation of flood flow data in connection with the preliminary investigations was put in hands by the commissioners shortly afterwards. The Rydell report was released for publication on the 2nd July, 1957. I think these dates indicate quite clearly that any charge of negligence which may be made in respect of this problem cannot properly be laid at the door of the present Government.
Deputy McQuillan also leaves himself open to the criticism that he did not regard the problem of being as immediately urgent as the wording of his motion suggests. I find that he had an opportunity of moving this motion on the 6th November, 1957, and he did not move it. It was next reached on the 19th February, 1958, and he did not move it on that date either. Therefore, I fail to see the sense of urging the Government to initiate steps immediately, when, by his neglect of the opportunities to press his case on the Government, he himself was not convinced of the great urgency of this question. Now, we in the Fianna Fáil Government are not of that opinion; we are of opinion that it is urgent. For that reason, the Department of Lands has been giving very close and persistent attention to this problem. Because of the magnitude of the engineering problem involved in the banking or arterial drainage of the Shannon Valley, this Government has decided that in any event some ameliorative measures will be taken pending the outcome of the work directed to be undertaken by Major Rydell.
I have here a statement from the Minister for Lands indicating what these measures are, and I think that it will save time if I read it verbatim. He says:—
"This motion recommends that ameliorative measures of a permanent nature for the relief of farmers in the flooded areas of the Shannon Valley should be initiated immediately by the Government. Some Deputies who have spoken on the motion have emphasised the necessity for immediate remedial measures in the form of migration and rehousing and to that extent I want to say straightaway that they are pushing an open door, because, as I will explain in a few moments, the Land Commission scheme is actually on the eve of implementation. Deputies will understand that the Land Commission scheme is not a scheme for the control of flooding: it is, in fact, aimed at securing relief from flooding as far as this can be done.
I can state briefly the facts regarding the projected Land Commission scheme. Following the extensive flooding caused by the River Shannon in the Winter of 1954, the then Government asked the Land Commission to consider formulating a scheme of relief, by migration or otherwise, for farmers in the Athlone/Meelick area whose lands were inundated or whose buildings were affected by the floods. Investigation disclosed that in the area over 100 farmers had their lands inundated or their buildings flooded. It was considered that sufficient land could be made available to provide dry-stands for stock and sites for houses, so that the affected farmers would have land and buildings above the level of floods of the previous winter's dimensions. An outline scheme was prepared by the Land Commission, envisaging the migration of a number of tenants, the construction of new dwelling-houses and out-offices, raising of yards and approaches, provision of haybarns and other minor matters.
In March, 1955, a provisional allocation of £100,000 was made from the National Development Fund to provide
(1) for the cost of a survey and a report by an American expert and
(2) to enable the Land Commission plans to be proceeded with but it was indicated that no expenditure could be incurred under (2) until the expert's report at (1) was to hand.
The final report of the American expert was received in August, 1956. He had been supplied with particulars of the Land Commission draft scheme and in regard to it he stated in his report that (and I quote): ‘It is recommended that, except for actions already initiated, relocation of farm buildings, roads, etc., be undertaken only to the extent found practicable and desirable after engineering studies are sufficiently advanced to permit evaluation of effectiveness of such works as may appear feasible of adoption.’
That was the position obtaining when the present Government took office in March of last year. The present Minister for Lands had the matter reopened as an urgent issue and in November, 1957, the Government authorised the Land Commission to go ahead with their scheme.
Early this year, the Minister for Lands detailed a corps of inspectors to work exclusively on the Land Commission relief scheme. The position is that while the outline scheme which was prepared a few years ago laid down the general lines of the remedial measures, precise proposals had to be worked out in detail in the Shannon area immediately a decision to press on with the scheme was forthcoming.
Special arrangements have been made for co-ordinating the necessary detailed investigations and for solving the many problems that inevitably arise in a comparatively big scheme of this kind. The projected scheme is twofold, namely, the provision of (a) new buildings for those whose buildings were seriously flooded and (b) dry stands for stock for those whose lands were inundated. The question of reconstructing buildings, raising approach roads, the building of houses on rafts on non-mineral soil, etc., were incidental matters covered by the examination.
The Land Commission have already in their possession some convenient lands for their scheme and in addition dry land for buildings sites and stands for stock will have to be obtained also by the migration of farmers with land above flood level. Thus, to a certain extent, the success of the scheme as a whole will depend on the willingness of certain farmers to migrate. These migrants will be offered fair exchanges, but it must be clearly understood that the Land Commission cannot be held up to ransom by any individual who seeks to avail himself of the circumstances by demanding exorbitant terms from the Land Commission. The Land Commission can offer exchanges only in accordance with their existing powers and, if they cannot come to terms with any prospective migrant, they will have no alternative but to seek elsewhere the land needed. Such a course can only deprive the prospective migrant of a good exchange and result in a less satisfactory scheme for the flooded farmers. In the circumstances, it is to be hoped that when the scheme comes to be operated by the Land Commission, the necessary degree of co-operation will be forthcoming from all farmers concerned.
As over 100 farmers are affected by the scheme, there are, naturally, many problems, technical, legal and administrative, involving a large amount of preliminary work. The examination of these problems is well advanced and the Land Commission hope to be in a position to begin work on the ground as soon as weather and farming conditions permit, probably in the spring. Until precise details of the scheme have been finalised and presented to the beneficiaries, only the main features of the scheme can be disclosed. These may be summarised as follows:—
No. of farmers to be migrated
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9
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No. of new houses to be built
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62
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No. of existing houses to be reconstructed
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22
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No. of new outoffices to be built
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76
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No. of existing out-offices to be reconstructed
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23
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Est. Cost of these buildings and other incidental works
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£100,000
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Approx. amount to be recovered in cash or annuities
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£11,000.”
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That is the scheme of amelioration. As Deputies will see, the Government are not waiting for the outcome of the investigations directed to be carried out by the American expert. If, well and good, these investigations indicate drainage measures of a character likely to afford additional relief to the farmers along this section of the Shannon, which is particularly susceptible to flooding, then these measures will be carried out under the Arterial Drainage Act. I think the statement I have just read is in itself an adequate reply to the motion.