Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State's response gives a good outline of the long-term programme and the planning that has taken place regarding how some of these problems can be alleviated. The catchment flood risk assessment and management programme has produced flood maps and so on, but there is a need for urgent funding to be made available to local authorities to take some measures now to alleviate the problems because looking at the way the programme is laid out, it will be years and years before many towns will get to the point of having approval to go ahead and start drafting plans. There may be works that can be identified straight away by the OPW and the local authorities that can go some way to alleviating the problems. There is no doubt that we will be here every year, if we are still in the Dáil, for the next ten or 15 years, talking about these very specific areas. The Minister of State needs to outline to the House that there are some emergency works and emergency moneys available now to alleviate some of these problems.

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