“Delays to River Shannon Management Bill moving from the farcical to the insulting" - TD
Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan has said that the apparent inability or unwillingness of Government to advance the legislation necessary to establish the River Shannon Management Agency is insulting to the people of the midlands and in particular to the farmers, landowners and campaigners along the Shannon Callows who have been demanding the statutory body for several years now.
Deputy Nolan has been highlighting the delays in the River Shannon Management Body Bill for some time and has repeatedly drawn attention to the fact that the Bill has been included in the List of Government’s Priority Legislation for 2021, 2022, as well as the Summer and Spring Priority List in 2023.
The Independent TD raised the matter again during a recent meeting of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee:
“At this stage of the process it is unclear if Government has any real intention to advance this Bill at all,” said Deputy Nolan.
“Is there serious internal opposition to the Bill? Is there an attempt to simply appease or fob off campaigners and farmers? We need to know what exactly is happening here.”
“I do welcome the recent moves to compensate the farmers and landowners impacted by the flooding but clearly there is still room for improvement in the offer that Government has put on the table, and I would strongly urge further engagement on this point.”
“There is also an urgent need for Inland Waterways and ESB to provide substantial and meaningful engagement around the opening of its gates in advance of impending rainfall. It simply beggars belief that these agencies can go on mismanaging the issue for so long, without any kind of accountability.”
“We need clarity from Government on the River Shannon Management Bill, and if it is serious about introducing it then we need a firm timeline for when the Bill will be presented to us. Telling us it is a ‘priority’ while it continues to languish in the legislative labyrinth is just insulting,” concluded Deputy Nolan.