I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Parlon, who has responsibility for the Office of Public Works. He will be very much aware of why I raise such a matter as he and I have had long experience of the difficulties experienced by people due to this problem, particularly in the south Roscommon area but also in adjoining counties. The Clonown area of south Roscommon has experienced flash flooding as well as flooding generally as a result of a number of matters of maintenance of the River Shannon that have been neglected. The Shannon is one of the finest waterways in Europe, but over many years people in the area of the southern section of the Shannon, in the Roscommon constituency, have suffered great hardship, with lands being flooded and stock and houses being marooned. Their lifestyles have been exposed to the elements in a way that has not generally been experienced by people in other regions in this lifetime and this has affected their ability to live comfortably.
I have put down this motion knowing that the Minister in charge, Deputy Parlon, has a hands-on and intimate knowledge of the problems. Indeed, in another capacity he attended meetings on many occasions to listen to the grievances and problems experienced by people in that area in particular and in adjoining counties. A number of problems need to be dealt with. We still have major flooding problems. There is seldom an opportunity for people to know in advance how they stand in times of heavy rain and they do not seem to have any link to the statutory authorities that control the levels of the Shannon, particularly during the vital lead-up to flood times. Sometimes a Minister turns up or we see television cameras there, but by then the horse has bolted. The information available locally is that if advance measures were taken we might not suffer the dire consequences we do.
There is a number of contributing factors to the problems on the Shannon. The most important one is that there is no maintenance of the main channel of the river. I appreciate what this Minister has done in terms of giving an allocation, albeit small, towards a survey to be carried out this year. All I am asking the Minister is that he ensures that those carrying out the survey meet local interest groups, action committees and local authorities in that area to establish the facts and not to rely on the information of people who feel they know what the position is, people who live far from the area. Let us get hands-on, in-depth and local involvement for this survey. That would be very helpful.
As I said in a committee meeting earlier today, an overall major development of drainage works for the Shannon is not a reality and should not even be considered, either now or in the future. However, a maintenance programme for the Shannon is something to which we should aspire in the short-term and deliver in the mid to long-term. The Minister of State, with his in-depth knowledge of what is involved in this area due to his farming background, which I share, has seen the problems we have tried to deal with over the years. We have had the help of the local authority and sometimes the Army to take people and stock out of flooded areas. I hope the Minister will outline tonight the positive steps the Department is taking, through the Office of Public Works, in the interest of the people about whom I have spoken in the Roscommon area and in Longford, Westmeath, Offaly and east Galway, who have suffered severe hardship over many years.
