Taoiseach to chair meeting on Lough Funshinagh crisis

Taoiseach Simon Harris has said he will chair a meeting this month in an effort to make progress on resolving the Lough Funshinagh flooding emergency.

The Fine Gael leader made a low-key trip to the affected area of South Roscommon last month. His visit was not announced in advance, and some of the affected families voiced disappointment that he had not met with them.

Speaking on Shannonside radio last week, Mr Harris said he would be actively involved in seeking to resolve the current impasse over flood relief works in the area.

"In the month of June, I will chair a meeting with the Office of Public Works, with Roscommon County Council, with the Attorney General, and any other agencies, to look at what can be done in the here and now, in advance of this winter," he said.

"I will then meet the families again. These are families that... I have just huge respect for them. They are really decent people, living in fear, and I want to try and help them."

Mr Harris's statement that he would be taking a hands-on role in relation to the issue was welcomed by Matthew Beattie of the Lough Funshinagh Flood Crisis Action Group.

Mr Beattie last month met with the Taoiseach alongside the lake, where flooding levels this year surpassed the previous record set in March of 2021.

"I think it's fair to say that (the Taoiseach) was visibly shocked by what he had seen. One of the key comments he made to myself was that nobody should have to live like this," said Mr Beattie.

"I think it speaks to the integrity of the Taoiseach himself that he's following this one through. It's unprecedented, in terms of the lead that he's now going to take in solving this crisis and it will be welcomed by all in the community."

A flood relief pipeline was due to funnel water from Lough Funshinagh to Lough Ree, in an effort to alleviate the flooding in the area, but this was stopped on foot of a High Court action taken in 2021 by the Friends of the Irish Environment.

The Tánaiste, Micheál Martin, also paid a recent visit to Lough Funshinagh, on May 22 last.

Speaking to journalists there, the Fianna Fáil leader said legal advice given to the Government, from the Attorney General and from senior counsel, was that the partially-finished flood relief pipeline from Lough Funshinagh would have to secure planning approval before it could be completed.

He said that, in the meantime, "an engineering company in the environmental area" had been tasked with "examining what can be done in the interim, in respect of next winter".