Mr. Michael Silke:

The dwelling house is critical. In my experience, all over Galway, in particular, south Galway, the position is the same. If one is insured and one gets the insurance the first time round, most are unable to afford the insurance the second time round even if they can get it. The insurance companies, if they have to pay for damage once, are not inclined to take one on again. That is the other side of it.

We should not dwell on the insurance issue but on the feasibility of getting something done and reducing the possibility of allowing floods to being created in the future. I have no illusions about saying there is a need to tackle critical areas of the Shannon. I have worked on this with Mr. Gunning in the IFA over the years.

We have made proposals to the OPW. I spent almost a week on the river with the OPW and we identified the critical areas which need to be tackled. These are small key areas along the river from Portumna to Athlone. They will probably be covered by the catchment flood risk assessment and management study, but this is a long way away, which concerns us. We might not be there in 2015 and this is the harsh reality. All we will get in 2015 is another report. In 1956, after the flooding of 1954, we had the Rydell report which proposed a summer relief scheme. In 1961 the ESB and OPW issued a report which proposed much the same. We then had the Delap and Waller report in 1988, the report of an all-party Dáil committee in 2000 and last year's report. They all proposed something in the line of a summer relief scheme to deal with summer flooding.

We have no major issue with winter flooding, and Deputy Corcoran Kennedy knows this from living in the heartland, as do Deputies Cowen and Flanagan. Apart from when winter flooding enters cattle sheds and houses, it is not a major issue. We accept it is a natural phenomenon. We are concerned about the summer flooding which occurs. Every year a winter flood occurs during the summer and this cannot continue. The corncrake is gone. The wader birds will go, as will the farmers, and it will be a wasteland. This is what will happen. Many families are moving out because they cannot take it any more.