Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

There is a loss of expertise and knowledge from the OPW which is not being replaced. The people who are paying for this are the families who have lost everything in this current crisis. It is necessary that the Minister of State rectifies this if there is to be any change in this situation. We are spending an enormous amount of money on outsourcing flood relief planning work to third parties because the expertise is no longer available in the OPW. Much of this work, rather than being carried out by Irish engineers, is being outsourced to foreign companies, which is a travesty given the thousands of young Irish engineers who are being forced to leave this country every year. The reality is that in terms of tendering, prices have never been as low. We could have in place a programme of works to repair much of the damage caused by the flooding. The amount being provided by Government in this regard is minuscule in terms of what is necessary. It was reported the other day that the Government has approved €70 million in funding for repair damage caused by the recent storms in the west and south. While that funding is to be welcomed, the repair bill from County Clare alone will absorb most of that money. We are spending €9 billion on interest repayments on debts that were never ours in the first place and only €70 million for essential repair work, which puts into scale just how little funding is being provided.

It is ironic that a great deal of money is being spent on outsourcing flood relief work and that there is an embargo on the recruitment of people who could plan for such crises. This means we are spending money after the horse has bolted. The impact of climate change on extreme weather is having a serious effect on tens of thousands of Irish families who cannot insure their properties. We have all heard about the damage caused in the agriculture sector. This issue is not going to go away. Forward planning does count. The Department has depleted itself of its resources in terms of-----

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