Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While most people acknowledge the OPW does great work, the problem is it does not do enough which is probably due to a lack of resources. The OPW has done catchment flood risk assessment and management reports. I have raised this question before but what level of feed-in does the OPW have with local authorities in terms of their county development plans regarding flood risk in identified areas? Apart from the CFRAM reports, what level of communication is there? While it is right to map areas for flood risk, once an area is put on the map, it frightens the daylights out of most people, including those who thought the area was safe to build on, the banks which might be asked to provide loans and finance and the insurance companies providing cover in an area that might not have been considered a flood risk five years previously. Could the OPW representatives talk about this?

The OPW presentation stated the OPW works with the local authorities under the Arterial Drainage Acts. However, the remaining joint drainage boards were abolished last year. In regard to the large rivers in Ireland, I am from Leinster so I know the Barrow and the Nore. It was right that there was a joint drainage board for rivers that traversed Counties Offaly, Laois, Kildare and Carlow, for example. However, they have been abolished and each council will do its own little bit. Each council will focus only up to its county boundary and will not care what happens in the next county. Has it had an impact? The witnesses will probably have to tell me it has not. The joint drainage boards must have been doing some good work and I am concerned that their abolition could result in increased flooding. At least when these rivers came under a drainage board, there was a dedicated budget and staff. While the functions of the boards have been transferred back to the local authorities, the staff who were doing the river drainage have probably ended up filling potholes or repairing footpaths. Does the OPW have any concerns? Maybe it is too early for it to have a view.

The OPW's report mentioned no figures. Given what the witnesses know about what it takes to solve the known risks of flooding, could they give us a figure? I am sure it would be billions of euro. Is it planned to do this over 20 years, 30 years, or two generations? What do they have each year and what would they like to have?

I mentioned the River Barrow. I am pleased that the 12 schemes the OPW handed over under the memorandum have been assessed and that in January 2015, that and four further ones were handed over to the OPW for consideration. The Kildare scheme was completed in 2000. Why has it taken five years for the scheme's information to be handed over? The Carlow scheme was completed in 2012. Why was the information not handed over before now, so it could have been assessed? The insurance industry has not been able to take on board work that was done more than three years ago. While my questions are mainly for the OPW, I will would like to hear comments from Insurance Ireland.