Dúchas, the heritage service of my Department, is responsible for navigation only on the River Shannon and one of its principal duties is to ensure that there is adequate water depth for the navigation of boats on the system. This activity applies almost exclusively to the cruising season, from mid-March to October, as only a few hundred of the 75,000 boat passages through the locks annually occur during the winter months.
Water levels in the three main lakes on the river, Loughs Allen, Ree and Derg, are controlled by the ESB. Water levels-depths in the river between these lakes are controlled by Dúchas for navigation purposes by means of a series of weirs with sluices. These weirs are so constructed as to retain water at a level adequate for navigation but they are overtopped in times of flood. When the water level rises in the river above that necessary for navigation purposes, the sluices are opened and any weir-boards removed so as to aid the flow of water. When the water is flowing freely over the tops of the weirs and all the sluices are open, Dúchas has no further control on water levels.
None of the Acts which apply to navigation grants powers or imposes duties on me relating to drainage matters or flood relief. While I regret the damage and hardship caused to families by the recent flooding, I am not in a position to address the problem.
