Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for being with us today. Many of my questions relate to flooding. Like many other parts of Ireland, my constituency of Cork South-West has had serious flooding. Places like Bandon, Skibbereen, Ballylickey, Bantry, Dunmanway, Enniskeane and Innishannon have been seriously flooded in recent years. Many homes and businesses have been practically devastated. A great deal of work has been done in Bandon in recent years. The removal of a significant quantity of gravel alleviated much of the concern in the town.

Perhaps I am wrong, but the impression I have got on the ground is that there is very little joined-up thinking in this regard on the part of the OPW, Inland Fisheries Ireland and local councils. Business people and private individuals get worried when, in the run-up to the 1 October deadline, they see high levels of gravel in rivers and little or nothing being done. I appreciate that some work was done. If it had not been for the efforts of the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, I would have found it extremely difficult to help people, especially in Bandon. I have found the same problem elsewhere. If this serious issue is to be resolved, there needs to be more joined-up thinking between the councils, the OPW and Inland Fisheries Ireland. People feel helpless because very little information is fed back to them about these serious issues.

There is a vagueness out there too. As far as I am aware, councils can draw down funding from the OPW for the clearing of rivers. In many cases, councils are saying that the OPW is responsible for such works and the OPW is saying it is an issue for councils. The people are getting caught in between. Five homes in Ballylickey and Bandon are being destroyed on a regular basis. I think the matter is being looked at in greater depth, but it is not good enough because these homes are being flooded regularly. The banks of the river need to be built up, or the gravel or other material in the river needs to be removed. It is very difficult to get everybody to talk together to ensure works that are urgently required are carried out.

As Deputy Ó Cuív said, the OPW is responsible for many properties, including Garda stations. After the Garda station in my own parish of Goleen in west Cork was closed, people in the local community went to great lengths to try to take over the building. They were refused even though this had been permitted in other locations. Many good tourism and community projects have been proposed for the building, but it is lying idle because these plans have gone nowhere. We are aware that the OPW has various properties, including car parks, throughout the country, but we do not know what exactly it has. Would it be possible for the witnesses to map out for us what exactly the OPW is in charge of? That would ensure public representatives know where to go when issues arise. I would like the questions I have asked to be addressed.