Patrick Donovan has been responding to a question from Laois Offaly TD Carol Nolan.
After three years of delays, a "final proposal" dealing with issues related to the River Shannon Management Agency Bill 2020 will be brought forward early in the new year.
Office of Public Works Minister Patrick O'Donovan is making the promise off the back of consistent flooding along the Shannon callows that has affected a large number of farmers.
Laois Offaly Independent TD Carol Nolan, who brought the question to the Dáil, says the bill itself has been on a priority list for three years without progression.
The OPW Minister says there's a number of stakeholders who manage the river that complicate matters: