Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I support Deputy Buckley and Senator Brady. We should bear in mind local knowledge regarding flooding events. It takes so long to complete these projects. It can be unbelievably long. Catchment flood risk assessment and management studies have been done. It is understandable that dealing with drainage and flooding issues is not very straightforward, but we should always have regard to the views, knowledge and experience of local people. When funding is granted and projects are approved in principle, there should be some type of timeframe within which the work should be carried out.