Preparation of legislation to improve flood risk management on the River Shannon is “complex”, according to Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform Paschal Donohoe.
The minister was responding to a parliamentary question on the status of the River Shannon Management Body Bill posed by Independent TD Carol Nolan.
Minister Donohoe said that the River Shannon Management Body Bill is on the priority legislation list for drafting for Autumn 2024.
The main purpose of the bill is to improve flood risk management for the River Shannon catchment.
River Shannon
Minister Donohoe noted that “the management of flood risk on the river is closely intertwined with other uses of the river such as for navigation, dam safety and electricity generation”.
“An analysis of existing legislation regarding the management of the River Shannon, including a review of the powers of various bodies involved with the river has been undertaken.
“Given the powers and functions of the various bodies involved, the preparation of legislative proposals is complex.
“In this context, there is a requirement for consultation and, when completed, legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General on a proposed approach,” he said.
The minister said that the Office of Public Works (OPW) is “prioritising this work”.
“Subject to completion of the requisite consultation and advice from the Office of the Attorney General, it is anticipated that the text of the bill will be brought to Cabinet in due course,” he added.
Laois Offaly TD Carol Nolan said that the River Shannon Management Body Bill “appears dead in the legislative water”.
“With the prospect of an imminent general election, it now appears ‘almost a certainty’ that the River Shannon Management Body Bill will not be progressed or even debated by the current Dáil,” she said.
Deputy Nolan has repeatedly criticised the lack of progress on the draft bill.
“While government is preparing this bill, farmers along the Shannon in my constituency are continuing to pay the financial bill for repeat flooding.
“We all know the issues are complex but at the same time I have to ask if there was ever any serious intention to bring forward this Bill in the lifetime of the Dáil or was it always just a matter of stringing farmers and landowners along and taking them for fools; because that is what it increasingly looks like to me,” she said.
In February, then Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW Patrick O’Donovan told Deputy Nolan that he anticipated the text of the bill would be brought to the Cabinet in April.
“Government says it has been prioritising this bill since at least 2022 and here we are in the dying months of this Dáil and no sign of a draft; no sign of the Attorney General’s legal advice and no end in sight to the consultations feeding into the bill.
“To say that famers in Laois-Offaly and the wider midlands are going to be furious at this development is an understatement. I hope government TDs and candidates have their answers for them at the doors,” Deputy Nolan added.