Sinn Féin TD for Roscommon/Galway Claire Kerrane has raised concern at the Tánaiste’s indifferent response to the long-running crisis at Lough Funshinagh, describing his comments to her on the issue as ‘alarming’.

Speaking having raised the issue in the Dáil with the Tánaiste, Teachta Kerrane said:

“I raised today the ongoing crisis of rising water levels at Lough Funshinagh with the Tánaiste to ask for action.

“Five houses are under immediate threat, another farmyard has been destroyed, older Residents are seeing their life’s work ruined and young couples with high mortgages are unable to let their children out the gate.

“The Tánaiste responded to say water-tables are high, of course, at Lough Funshinagh, they are 69.16 and rising daily. He then went on to advise he knew the specifics of the case yet then asked me to come up with a remedy that he could go to the Minister with.

“The remedy is there, it is being blocked – that is the problem and that has been the problem for a long time. The Tánaiste knows this.

“In my contribution I made it clear the message I received along with my colleague Chris MacManus MEP and members of the Lough Funshinagh Flood Crisis Group from the EU Commission Director for Biodiversity, when we met him last month – there is nothing in the Habitats Directive preventing a Member State from having emergency legislation in place where livelihoods are at risk and livelihoods as well as lives have been at risk at Lough Funshinagh now for years so it begs the question – what are the Government waiting for?

“The crisis at Lough Funshinagh has been allowed to drag on and on while families, farmers and an entire community are left in a disaster zone. This is outrageous and the Government now needs to look at emergency action allowable under the Habitats Directive and get the remedy that is sitting there in place immediately.”