To ask the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what work is being undertaken by her Department to identify which is the competent authority to oversee the safety and maintenance of (i) reservoirs; (ii) dams; and (iii) millponds and to manage the risks associated with them.

Reservoir safety was identified as a policy gap in the government endorsed policy framework document “Living with Rivers & the Sea” which recommended the need to take forward appropriate legislation to provide for regulatory control. Work carried out by my department associated with the EC Floods Directive has confirmed that flood risk from this source needs to be effectively managed. Consideration is currently being given to the statutory mechanisms that are available to progress the issue of reservoir regulation and my officials are in discussion with other departments to determine how this will be taken forward.