Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)

We are dealing with it and have agreed a proposal to force Ministers and Ministers of State into the House when it is their job to be present, but we have other matters with which to deal before we can finalise it.

The Waterways estate in Sallins, County Kildare, was built in 2006 and occupied shortly after late 2007. Planning was done in two phases and matters in the planning files indicate confusion as to the nature and extent of the drainage required. While the developer complied with some parts of the requirements, he is also the subject of enforcement notices from the local authority and others.

The Waterways flooding has notable aspects, one being that it was entirely avoidable. The flood was not caused by a large river breaking its banks or by virtue of the estate being built on a flood plain. It was caused by an inadequate and partly blocked culvert. The flooding of houses up to a depth of 4 ft. lasted from the morning of Sunday, 21 November until the evening of Tuesday, 1 December. A blocked culvert under the road was identified as the cause. However, despite the fact that the problem was identified at an early stage, it became almost impossible to get the necessary work sanctioned to clear the culvert. The local authority claimed it was the business of the management company, which claimed that it could not deal with the matter because the culvert was outside the estate. Eventually at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, 1 December, the local authority gave permission to have the road opened and the culvert cleared. In a few hours, the flood water had subsided and it was gone within 12 hours.

The residents - owners and tenants - were left with a massive task in trying to rescue what remained of their properties. Work is now under way to install adequate drainage systems that will ensure no recurrence of such a disaster. I am raising this matter because it is important to the residents that, when the remedial work is complete, their insurance companies are assured that no such flooding will recur. I am satisfied that this is the case, as the works currently under way will be effective in preventing future flooding.

I refer to the interview given by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, on "Prime Time" on RTE on Monday, 4 January. I do not do this in a hostile sense. During his interview, the Minister stated that it was not called Waterways for nothing, in that it was built on a flood plain. Whatever the Minister might believe concerning the estate's name, he was wrong to state that it is built on a flood plain. I am not suggesting that he did this in a malicious way, but it is most important for the residents and their ability to get insurance against future flooding, if any, that his statement about a flood plain be corrected.

My colleague, Deputy Bernard Durkan, and I have already raised this issue by means of parliamentary questions without a satisfactory response. Indeed, our questions were ignored. When the OPW, the Government's expert on flooding, was questioned on this point, it stated that the area was subject to flooding - we knew this, seeing as how it was flooded - but certainly did not state that it was a flood plain.

I ask the Minister of State to correct the record specifically to ensure that the earlier statement is not used by insurance companies to increase premiums or refuse insurance. I am hopeful that he will take this opportunity to do so. Sallins in County Kildare is a highly desirable location in which to live, work and raise a family. The Waterways estate is a very desirable location within Sallins and its residents deserve our best efforts to restore the area's reputation. The Minister might not even know we are here, but I hope that the Minister of State will ask him about this matter directly. I am not suggesting that the Minister commented maliciously. It was an off-the-top-of-the-head remark, but one that is causing serious difficulties for residents and needs to be corrected.

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