Paraic Brady (Fine Gael)

The good news for the residents is that the person with responsibility for the OPW is the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran. In fairness to the Minister of State, he has been very hands on in the past with flood relief, certainly in his area and in others. We all saw what happened in Texas and the devastation that flooding brings in respect of lives and homes. There are certain mechanisms out there. As Deputy Buckley said, if four or five feet of floodwater is predicted, then a barrier at least five feet in height is going to be needed. There are ways and means as regards flooding. We have seen how England copes with flood relief, banks and drainage. If money made available in respect of the area in question has been held up by either the local authority or the OPW, somebody has to be held accountable for it.

I would like to find out exactly where that funding is for the residents and see if the matter can be moved on from there. Information is key. It has to be moved on. I do not believe the problem will be with the OPW. In truth, I would say it is somewhere else.