Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I believe subsequent events mean the house will ultimately cost more. It may not be possible to purchase the house at all, but there still has to be access. I will revert to the Department on this matter. A freedom of information request I have submitted is taking forever, but it will probably give me the answers I am seeking, including on the sequence of events.

Regarding flood relief, climate change is presenting us with a different scenario. I understand that there will have to be a change in how we do things, including flood relief and working with nature. Although changes are happening, people who have been flooded once will not get insurance a second time. Obviously, people in areas that are prone to flooding have to spend money if they want to stay in their homes or get businesses back up and running, and they will often get a grant from the Government to do so, but they worry about whether there will be another flood in three months’ time, next year, etc. There has to be a balance between cost and speed where flood relief systems are involved. Is the Department considering both sides of the equation? We could spend a great deal of public money getting people back up and running only to find we have to repeat the exercise multiple times before we have flood relief systems in place.