Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Michael Malone, Mr. Alan Dunney and Mr. Joe Boland for the presentation. I always thought Kildare was a very dry county as I passed through it on my way to Dublin from Laois. In the north of the county, however, there was clearly a serious problem. I was interested that the work was done using direct labour from the OPW, although contractors are used for heavy equipment and so on.

A group from Cork appeared before the committee and they outlined that it can be difficult to get from the report stage to the commencement of construction and I was told in reply to a parliamentary question that more than €7 million allocated for flood relief works was not spent last year by the OPW. Are any schemes awaiting funding?

Is the attenuation system in place on the N7 adequate? Waterways nearby seem to have huge deluges of water, particularly the Barrow. Substantial attenuation was allowed for at construction stage but is it still adequate at every point?

The Barrow Drainage Board receives funding from Kildare County Council and from Laois County Council. Good work has been done by that board but the council must be vigilant because this can cause substantial problems for farmers and rural residents along a line to Monasterevin and the area to the east. That area has seen substantial flooding and will require ongoing maintenance.

To carry out €1,000 of work to remove a branch that had fallen into a river and a small amount of silt that had built up behind it, one county council had to get bird studies done under the habitats directive. The bird study that had been done the previous year and which cost €4,000 was not sufficient. Are there similar delays in the Kildare County Council area because of the habitats directive? I do not expect the witnesses to savage the National Parks and Wildlife Service but this issue has been raised regularly in meetings of the joint committee by people from various areas that have been flooded.

People tell us they live in an area that is geocoded as a flood risk. We heard an example of a house located 50 ft. higher than most other houses in the area, yet the home owner was unable to obtain insurance because the house was in an area designated as high risk. It is great that works have been carried out in some areas. If local residents in Sallins, Leixlip or elsewhere in County Kildare are refused insurance and the Office of Public Works or county council subsequently carry out works in the area, does this lead to the reinstatement of their insurance?