Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, on all of the work he has done in this area since 2011. In October 2011 Dublin city was hit very badly by flooding and the Minister of State responded immediately. We debated in the Dáil the next day as a Topical Issue what had happened the previous evening and what needed to be done. Deputy Kevin Humphreys and I, from Dublin Bay South, organised meetings with residents and we were able to go to the OPW with the Minister of State. It was fantastic to get this type of engagement so soon after the event and assure people the Minister of State and the Department were moving to put in place those defences which were required at the time. We had long-standing plans for flood defences, for the Dodder in particular, but they had not been moving as quickly as they should have been. They have since been expedited and very good work has been done and continues to be done.

The context for this debate is very serious flooding elsewhere in the country and along coastal areas, which we have all seen. People have lost their lives and much damage has been done to property. In addressing flooding nationally I hope the resources in terms of people and money which have already been earmarked for Dublin will be maintained and the commitments made will be honoured. If we were to have another event as we did in 2011 the impact would be huge, as it was in the constituency at the time.

Many Deputies have raised the insurance issue. The Ministers of State, Deputies O'Dowd and Hayes, are very aware of it. It is a frightening thought that people might be in a house which has been flooded and cannot get insurance again to protect it. Neither can they sell their house to move, because who would buy a house which is at risk of flooding for which one cannot get insurance? They are trapped and it is very frightening prospect. It is a bit of a disgrace the insurance industry has not moved to ensure that data sharing arrangement and the memorandum of understanding have been completed. This should have happened by now because this process has been ongoing for long enough. They need to hurry up and get their documentation and agreement in place so the plan for the OPW insurance agency can come into effect and benefit those seeking insurance.

I do not want to step into a climate change debate, but we are not sure of future weather patterns or what they might mean for the country. It seems clear going on recent history the prudent thing to do would be to build proper national strategic defences for the country. We must take out the local from this. It will not please all local residents in all areas, including my own, but we need to examine a proper national strategic flood defence system to protect the Liffey and Dublin Bay in particular. They will not be aesthetically pleasing but in countries such as the Netherlands they have done a very good job. The River Thames flood defence system has a retractable barrier and is very effective. We should examine measures such as these. If we are serious about it we need to examine a 20 year plan for some of these projects because they might take this long, and the funding required to put them in place.

If one considers pluvial flooding with regard to rainwater there is a capacity issue with the drainage and sewer system in Dublin. For years Dublin City Council has been working on a plan to upgrade the Pembroke Rathmines drainage scheme and increase capacity so we do not have spot flooding after heavy rainfall, particularly what was experienced on the nights in October 2011. It is an additional contributory factor to flooding. This responsibility has moved to Irish Water and it is important it does not delay for a second in getting the scheme up and running for the residents in the constituency.

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