The ongoing delay around the introduction of the River Shannon Management Agency Bill is “inexcusable”, according to an opposition TD.
Independent deputy Carol Nolan has slammed the “repeated failure” of the government to bring forward the bill, which has been placed on the list of priority legislation for 2021, 2022, and once again this summer.
The proposed legislation seeks to create a single competent authority to coordinate flood risk and management along the River Shannon.
Shannon
Deputy Nolan’s comments follow significant flooding which has taken place again on farmland adjacent to the River Shannon.
Last Friday (August 4), up to 200 farmers protested on a bridge in Banagher, Co. Offaly calling for “proper maintenance” of the River Shannon in their area.
Local farmers have said they are facing fodder concerns, and many have had to sell livestock due to damage.
The protest was organised by the Save Our Shannon Organisation (SOSO), which had four main aims for the day.
“Flooding along various parts of the River Shannon has been a constant and disruptive feature of the lives of so many farmers and landowners in Offaly and beyond for many years now,” Deputy Nolan said.
“Despite this fact, government and agency levels of responsiveness have been entirely disjointed and effectively uncoordinated.
“Not only that but we also know that Ireland’s Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme has been meeting for the better part of a decade to develop strategies for the reduction of risk.
“Yet almost every year farmers and landowners have failed to see any meaningful reduction in that risk,” the Laois-Offaly TD added.
“We urgently need to see the shape of the legislation that proposes to give effect to a new single authority to address issues on the Shannon.
“Unfortunately, all that government can tell us, yet again, is that the heads (draft) of the management body bill is in ‘preparation’ stage.
“The approach to managing flood risk along the Shannon has failed. It needs to be far more responsive to the immediate needs of farmers and landowners who are being adversely affected several times a year at this point,” Deputy Nolan said.