Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When flood plains are built on, it is not a question of climate change, an act of God or something unseen and unexpected. It is a deliberate decision by politicians to rezone, as a reserved function of a council, an area that is a flood plain. That is precisely what has happened throughout this country. It happened in Bettystown, County Meath, which is now part of my constituency. In 2005, the council voted to rezone 22 acres of land, which were clearly a flood plain. One councillor at the meeting was quoted in The Irish Timesas saying, when he was told by the council officials that the land was subject to flooding: "That is the poorest, pathetic excuse I have ever heard for land not being rezoned... The man is going to build the houses himself. He is not one of the big boys. It might be better, easier if he was." That is the reality when dealing with houses on flood plains.

If one searches Cois na Mara on Google tonight, one will discover that a 300-house estate is being constructed in Bettystown. It is believed to be a very fine example of the best possible build, with all the pluses one can think of for that beautiful area. The one thing not stated is that these houses are being built on a flood plain. The point is that there must be accountability for building on flood plains. If a company has planning permission, it should be legally required to state in its documentation that the building is on a flood plain. That is the only way the 350 or so people who may buy those homes will be warned or made aware of the dangers that might exist for them. Who benefits from all of this? It is not the person who is buying the house, because they do not know it is on a flood plain. It is not the community who live in housing near that area, because they will be affected by the overflow of water as the new run-off comes into their estates. An estate called Northlands in the same area is subject to frequent flooding. The Office of Public Works is spending a fortune trying to alleviate flooding distress in east Meath, yet the building continues. It is not stopping and will not stop anytime soon.

It is a question of greed and avarice on the part of a very small number of people who are exploiting planning decisions, some of which were made at secret meetings. A report published by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government before Christmas regarding a planning inquiry in Meath East, which is also part of my constituency, states that the records show that when a senior official of Meath County Council met with developers, he did so unaccompanied by another staff member. It states that the absence of minute keeping by the planning authority in respect of meetings with landowners and their representatives is a significant procedural weakness. How can planners hold meetings with developers in hotels outside of office hours with no minutes and nobody else present? What the hell is going on here and why do we allow this to continue in the State?

There must be real change in our legislation.

My message is that we need real change in our legislation. I acknowledge that the Government is making proposals, although they are late in the day. The detail of the legislation is there. Fundamentally, we must protect our people from planning abuses, sharp practice and the greed and avarice of those who would exploit in every possible way the purchase of property and the rezoning of land for their own benefit. If nothing else comes from all of this, everybody must be alerted nationally that where flood plains are rezoned by councillors, somebody has to pay for it. In the first place, it should be the councillors who make the decision. They should be held accountable where they go against the advice of the planning authorities and rezone. They should be held individually and personally accountable for any suffering experienced by the people who buy homes in those areas as a result. We must clean up planning. We have had tribunal after tribunal. If CAB could go into the accounts of the companies we are talking about to investigate what payments, if any, were made over or under the table, there would be far fewer of these decisions.

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