11th December, 2015
ICSA president Patrick Kent has called in to question the management of the River Shannon. “It is time for a concentrated effort to be made to ensure floods of this scale can never happen again. Managing and maintaining the River Shannon properly needs to become a political priority”, he said.
Mr Kent said that once again we have seen householders and landowners suffer the devastating consequences of flooding. “The technology is there, and the resources have to be put in place to prevent this from reoccurring. Political will is what is needed most. We can no longer put peoples livelihoods and health at risk like this”.
“Issues such as silt and milled peat in the river are becoming more problematic and unfortunately we are seeing the results of an uncoordinated approach and the general mismanagement of the river. I believe that tourism and environmental interests have held up the remedial works that are required for too long. De-silting and dredging, particularly of narrow channels, must take precedence at this point”, he concluded.
Ends
