Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I share the praise for people in the emergency services who in a time of need and at some risk to themselves went out and played a very important part in assisting people in distress whose homes had been breached by floods and where power had gone. I speak particularly of the local authorities, the fire services, Civil Defence, the Army, the Garda and the volunteers. Some volunteers even travelled to Limerick to help out because they were very moved to see all the worldly possessions of some poor individuals whose houses were flooded ruined. That is a very depressing prospect for any of us to think about.

I visited areas in my own county, Mayo, where houses and land were flooded and land was destroyed along the coast. I speak for the people who were affected and have contacted me about their plight. There is limited funding for dealing with such events. We are witnessing unprecedented weather in our lifetimes when we see the scale of the devastation and how the weather has wrought havoc on both sides of the Atlantic, including in the United Kingdom and on the mainland of Europe, in the form of last summer's flooding. It is important that, as storm damage is appraised, all affected homes and properties throughout the country are brought into the equation. The Minister has charged the local authorities and is working with the Department of Social Protection to assess this damage.

Solutions, flood defences and mitigation works should not focus solely on the big population centres such as Limerick and Cork. I asked my colleague Deputy O’Donnell to stay here because I was going to mention this. Funding is limited but we need to have a fair scheme of prioritisation. It cannot just be based on population, which favours large centres of population on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis showing that the money spent would benefit more people. Some areas are experiencing flooding for the first time, or maybe for the first time in recorded history. In my home town of Ballina, there are houses that have been flooded several times. They are not housing estates built recently on flood plains but they have a history of being flooded and have never received flood defences. The priority for funding should be where lives and homes are at risk, but it should not be based solely on a cost-benefit analysis, which would favour the urban centres. Instead, priority should be given to housing areas which have been flooded regularly rather than those that have been flooded for the first time. That would provide a better return on investment. Resources are limited but there must be fairness for all those around the country who are affected. Many of the houses that have been flooded repeatedly cannot be insured.

The flooding of farmland presents an opportunity for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, to consider the replacement scheme he is crafting for the rural environment protection scheme, REPS, and the green, low-carbon agri-environment scheme he is putting together. Farmers have a can-do attitude and I am sure they would be willing to participate in remedial work on their lands, which would reduce the risk of flooding in the future. This could be sponsored as environmental work. There are problems with special areas of conservation in my area, in which there is a great deal of land.

There are issues also with the National Parks and Wildlife Service. There must be streamlining of consent because in some instances drains and other flood prevention works cannot be carried out in a speedy fashion. I ask that the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Deenihan, facilitate a meeting with the Irish Farmers' Association and the National Parks and Wildlife Service to tease out these issues.

I compliment the cross-departmental response. It was not easy because people were frustrated and distressed, yet it all came together. A response was required from the Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Environment, Community and Local Government, the Office of Public Works and the Department of Social Protection. I accept there is not nearly enough money available but I look forward to the continuation of the debate about how we can fairly spend the moneys that are available.

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