asked the Minister for Finance if he will state, with reference to the dredging operations on the River Shannon, whether the Office of Public Works requested the ESB to lower the level of the Shannon; if so, to what level in reference to the height at Athlone weir; and the date of such request.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - River Shannon Level.
36.
The answer to the first part of the question is "No". The other parts of the question do not, therefore, arise.
May I refer the Parliamentary Secretary to the reply given by the Minister for Transport and Power in which he stated that the present level of the River Shannon at Athlone was as a result of a request by the Board of Works to enable dredging operations to be carried on?
The question is, I think, whether the Office of Public Works requested the ESB to lower the level of the Shannon and the answer to that question is "No".
Did any request for the lowering of the Shannon come from anybody in the Parliamentary Secretary's office to anybody with any control over the River Shannon in relation to the dredging operations there, or who is codding whom?
This is a little bit difficult. I would like to say that the course level at Athlone weir is 122' OD. The level at Lough Ree is 122' 30''. In the case of the level at Athlone/Tarmonbarry, works in this region were started with a view to providing a channel with a minimum depth of 5' 6''; and a width of 90' with a water level of 121' OD. Now the point is the Office of Public Works will continue their dredging operations to a maximum of 124' OD. We are not equipped to dredge deeper than that. There is the question of silting and so on. We have had a very prolonged dry season, as the Deputy is probably aware, and that is the main reason why Lough Ree is now down to 122' 30''; we will have it up to 123'.
The Parliamentary Secretary is aware that the Minister for Transport and Power said that a special request was made and that this is the reason why the Shannon is being kept at such an abnormally low level?
I did not say that. This is an honest assembly, I think. I did not say that.
Will the Minister tell us what he said? Will he repeat what he said?
The whole purpose of the Office of Public Works is concerned with the navigation of the Shannon. Sometimes levels may be lowered to ensure that dredging can take place.
Would the Minister for Transport and Power be concerned with navigation?
Is the Parliamentary Secretary not aware that navigation on the River Shannon at the moment is seriously prejudiced because of the lack of water on the Upper Shannon due to the ESB keeping the sluice gates at Athlone open?
Maybe if the Deputy did a rain dance he could solve the problem.
That type of facetious reply is no help to boat users with large vessels on the Shannon.
We can dredge levels up to 124' OD. I have given the levels to the Deputy. They are on the record now. I do not want to start reading them out again. The reason why the levels are lower than we would like at this particular time is because of the long dry spell. We cannot control the weather. We can control everything else.
Fianna Fáil cannot control their own party either.