§ MR. SMITH BARRY (Huntingdonshire, S.)I beg to ask the Solicitor General for Ireland whether it is proposed to commence drainage operations in the valley of the Shannon River before the passing of the Shannon Drainage Bill, and whether such operations will be carried out on the plan suggested in the Report of Mr. J. F. Bateman, C.E., in 1867, under which he said that the bed of the river would be so dried that operations there "could be carried on as if they were on dry land"; and, if so, whether proper precautions will be taken to prevent injury to the salmon and other fish that breed in the Shannon, and compensation granted in the event of damage being done to the very valuable fisheries in the river?
§ MR. MADDENCertain works have for the last eighteen months been in operation on the lines of Mr. Bateman's 7 scheme, the funds being provided from a separate grant of £50,000 unconnected with the general Shannon scheme which is now the subject of a Bill before this House. Upon the Bill becoming law the works it proposes in regard to other portions of the river will also follow the general lines of Mr. Bateman's project. Hitherto, owing to the precautions taken, no injury has been done to the salmon or other fisheries. It is not anticipated that the execution of the works under the Bill will cause any injury to the fisheries, and every precaution will be taken to secure that this should be the case.