Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. The Minister of State and I had a conversation about this matter on a Topical Issues debate before Christmas. As he is well aware, these flood events have taken an enormous toll on the lives of many people. Communities have suffered huge disruption. Houses have been flooded, homes have been marooned, farmland has been isolated, farm sheds have been flooded and cattle and milking cows have had to be moved around. The floods have had a major impact on rural and urban life. Roads and other infrastructure have been severely damaged.

In the area I know best - County Clare - there are two or three aspects to the flooding. One is the River Shannon, to which my colleague, Deputy Troy, referred, and the impact it has had right along its boundary with Clare and, more particularly, in places like Clonlara. The limestone region in the north of Clare takes in places like Tubber and New Quay and has been impacted by the turlough system. Places like Newmarket and Sixmilebridge include small tributaries up to the Shannon estuary which flooded homes on an individual basis. I think in particular of people such as Pat Corrigan, whose home was flooded over the course of a very short period of time. I have discussed others in the past. Places like Sixmilebridge, because of the drainage system, have caused concern to people. The floods have caused major disruption.

I again thank the county council, the Civil Defence, the Army, the fire brigade, the large voluntary contribution from various communities, the Garda and the Red Cross. We will not apportion blame. My colleague has identified some of the weaknesses and delays that have taken place. We are now moving on. What will happen next?

The Taoiseach called in the insurance companies. It is an issue that should be dealt with down the road. I would like to see the Taoiseach and Minister of State call in the OPW and immediately establish properly resourced offices in the counties affected by flooding. There should be a flood designation office or a flood officer in each local authority affected, which should be properly resourced and served by engineers and people who can examine compensation claims.

In the first instance, such offices could deal with the major clean-up that is required. While many of the houses in Clonlara may not have been flooded directly, lawn areas and the curtilages of sites were inundated with water. The contents of septic tanks poured and flushed around such areas. Some slatted sheds leaked. All of this requires a major clean-up operation, and there is no plan in place to assist people with that. They require assistance.

I discussed with the Minister of State the possibility of extending the minor works scheme to build immediate defences around homes affected by flooding. An immediate response is required to give people the comfort of knowing they will not be flooded again next November. That will not solve the problem. The medium-term solution is to wait for CFRAM and the greater defence systems that will flow from that. Another immediate response is to wrestle control from the ESB and put in place an independent designated officer to independently manage the flows and levels of the River Shannon.

I am not being critical of the efforts of the Minister of State in this regard but some kind of a co-ordinating body is of no benefit because when the chips are down and there is conflict between any of the 11 or 12 agencies involved, the Minister of State knows what will happen. They will revert to form, to their legislative frameworks and bases, and state they cannot negotiate beyond what their establishing principles allow. If the Lord Himself was brought down, He would not find common ground between diametrically opposed agencies. For that reason, there is a necessity for a legislative approach to create and establish an independent authority, with all of the necessary powers to direct those agencies to put before anything else the lives of those affected by flooding and the communities in which they live.

I also urge an appropriate fund be put in place to carry out a relocation programme. There is little doubt that given the change in weather patterns and increased rainfall, and recognising the slow-moving nature of the Shannon, there will have to be designated flood plains. That will require relocation. At this stage people would like to see flesh on the bones of that proposal.

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