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

County Donegal experienced its most recent flooding events at the start of the current crisis. One of the fortunate developments for the population of the county was that the flood waters receded quickly. Unfortunately for the county, this probably means that priority will shift to the south and Donegal may be left behind in terms of funding to alleviate flooding problems in future. County Donegal must remain a priority for the Government because irrespective of whether flood waters recede quickly or slowly, the damage done by flooding is devastating for the families who have experienced it. The damage to property and homes still needs to be repaired and the requirement to prevent flooding events in future remains.

In early December, the River Eske in Donegal town burst its banks and flooded a number of homes, forcing families out of their houses until repairs have been carried out, which will take several months. It has been soul-destroying for those affected to have their homes flooded twice in three weeks. Some householders were carrying out repairs when their homes were flooded a second time, destroying the earlier repair works.

Ballybofey, Castlefinn, Killygordon and Lifford experienced severe flooding when the River Finn burst its banks. While the floods receded quickly, significant damage was done and a number of bridges were left in need of repair. However, the council does not have sufficient resources to carry out the necessary works. It is vital, therefore, that the Government makes emergency funding available to local authorities to repair flood damage.

The village of Pettigo has suffered repeated flooding and often experiences flash floods. County Donegal has an additional problem in that some rivers straddle the Border and there is confusion as to who is responsible for them and how works can be carried out. Co-ordination is needed on both sides of the Border to ensure alleviation works can be done quickly.

I acknowledge the work done by the fire service, council staff and members of the public who worked valiantly throughout the recent flooding events to try to save property and alleviate the extent of the damage done. They are to be commended on the work they did.

There is a need for an officer to be appointed with responsibility for planning for flood events in every county. The Minister alluded to this earlier in his contribution. While the CFRAM process is ongoing, it is a long-term solution or programme to put in place long-term measures for the mitigation of floods. There needs to be a person designated with responsibility to co-ordinate council works who will plan for flooding events and ensure that certain measures are in place. For example, the person would ensure that adequate numbers of sandbags are available, flood defences are available to be deployed at short notice and staff are available. The relevant officer should co-ordinate all that work. This should happen as a matter of urgency throughout the country. Whoever is designated with this responsibility in each county, the roles should be their sole purpose. Other bodies should be required to report to them and respond to the reports and works they recommend.

The recent ministerial meetings with insurance companies will only result in insurance companies taking a lead in the issue and negotiating on their terms. I do not believe they will do anything to resolve the problems and issues. It is also a distraction from the real issue of responsibility for bad planning in the past, coupled with a lack of oversight in flood prevention measures and the lack of government-sponsored schemes to support those who cannot get flood cover.

Bad planning in the past has led to huge numbers of homes being built on floodplains. The Government and local authorities have to take responsibility for this. The issue of planning reform has taken a back seat. That fact that we have gone through a recession has solved the problems of building on floodplains. However, I heard reports on the radio during the week of a development on a site in County Meath. The foundations have been built for 380 houses there but the site is currently under water because of flooding. We cannot allow these types of problems to continue. Construction should be stopped in that case to ensure houses are not built in a place where people move in and then, all of a sudden, they are flooded again and destroyed.

See this speech in context