Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour)

I appreciate the attendance of the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, in the Chamber.

I want to bring to the attention of the Minister of State the level of panic heavy weather warnings bring to areas in my constituency and others. My colleague, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, from Dublin South-East has said the same. Heavy weather warnings have been issued for today, but by 2.15 p.m. Dublin City Council had downgraded the threat. That said, areas across Dublin city and throughout the country have major flooding flashpoints whenever heavy rainfall occurs. In my constituency, areas such as Artane, Coolock and Donnycarney are at risk and in the past 18 months I have witnessed the same families being moved out of their homes on a number of occasions. When we have heavy rain warnings now, panic ensues and people contact local authorities to see what plan is in place. They also contact their local representatives to find out whether there is a plan in place. It is disconcerting that families have to huddle around radios and televisions for the weather forecasts in their worry about where they may end up living the following week.

I accept that the responsibility in this regard falls to the local authority but I hope the Minister of State will address the issue. Is he satisfied that the various programmes that have been outlined by his Department for flood relief and flood risk assessment have been rolled out? Is he satisfied that in terms of the local authority response, his Department and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government give adequate support to that response? It is only when one is faced with the chaos of a flooded street or home that people quickly realise that despite the bravery of local council workers and the fact they work around the clock and they put their own safety in danger, resources and plans should be in place that automatically come into play when these situations arise. Are there weather alerts that will ensure these plans will be activated and that the various agencies will know how to respond?

I am aware the local authorities are responsible for these issues but they are concerned with the long-term strategic view and plan of the Government, which is to ensure that investment is put into infrastructure in local areas so as to ensure when there is heavy rainfall - which may be a climate change issue to which we must get used - local authorities are fully equipped to deal with that. Not alone that, we must ensure the State has taken its responsibility seriously and has made the interventions and investments required to correct any flood risks that exist.

I urge the Minister of State to respond to these points. We cannot allow a situation where some of our citizens are terrified at the prospect of heavy rainfall. This is what I face this week for my constituents. They want to know that they will not have to live under this cloud. There are other implications to this, such as house insurance. The Minister of State has been proactive previously in dealing with the Irish Insurance Federation on this but people whose houses are continually flooded cannot get house insurance. Incoming buyers will not get insurance either, rendering the property effectively worthless. This is the situation I face in my constituency and other Deputies face the same. I would appreciate a response on this.

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