The Labour Party is proposing the establishment of a single river authority for the Shannon to tackle the flooding problem.
Mr Willie Penrose TD, the party's spokesman on agriculture, has drafted a Private Member's Bill which he hopes to be able to introduce in the Dail next week. Speaking in Athlone yesterday, he said the conditions endured by people in flooded areas each year made it imperative that this single statutory authority be established. It should also handle fisheries, navigation, the improvement of water quality as well as the protection of the river environment.
"At one time you could quite rightly say `maybe the resources are scarce', or whatever, but now we are in a time of plenty and we should utilise whatever funding is available and try to alleviate the conditions under which people have to live. One house flooded is one too many," he said.
Mr Penrose was hopeful that the Government would allocate time in the Dail next week to discuss his Bill. ail Agricultural Committee on Thursday, he said.
He said he would be calling on the Government to introduce an immediate compensatory package for people who had lost domestic holdings and for farmers who had lost winter fodder. for their animals.
Under the proposed Bill, the new authority would be obliged to submit a five-year plan to the Minister for the Environment on measures to improve the river and surrounding areas.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael has promised to establish a statutory authority to manage the Shannon when next in government, writes Lorna Siggins. The party leader, Mr John Bruton, said the authority would manage and maintain the river and its tributaries, and would be transparent and adequately funded.
Speaking in Co Galway yesterday, Mr Bruton said one body with overall control of inland river maintenance could eliminate much localised flooding.
A report commissioned by the Irish Farmers' Association found that six Government departments and 20 other State, semi-State or interested bodies were involved with aspects of the 210-mile Shannon system.
The need for an overall management authority was emphasised after the recent extensive flooding in the midlands and west, with various bodies denying responsibility for the dramatic rise and fall in water levels.