Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy Eugene Murphy stated, a tsunami of water came down from Sliabh Bán last Thursday evening. In fairness, the council was contacted that evening but one road was taken out completely, houses were flooded, as the Deputy also has noted, and there was chaos in the area. Since then, no one from Coillte has visited the people who were affected by this event and I understand it could be another day or two before that happens. There are many questions to be answered. I walked that mountain last Sunday and while it was stated that one cannot go up the mountain or whatever, I went up through the trees and walked it. Members must read the planning that is involved and to be frank, enforcement must be considered because while the Deputy is correct to state there was a lot of rain, part of that planning refers to events that happen once every 100 years and the amount of rain that was accounted for the other evening was far from that mark. I have video footage and photographs of it and it broke the banks. It came down through the trees and went straight down the mountain. Were one to examine the planning that was meant to have been put in place, one would conclude that attenuation tanks must be placed in dangerous areas right around that mountain or people will live in fear. An 82-year-old woman is unable to enter her house, and silt has gone down through drains for approximately one mile. Farmers' meadows have been blown to the ground. Water came down the main road from up that mountain. Under health and safety and building regulations, there is a responsibility on any site to contain whatever water comes onto it and I seek the proper enforcement of this responsibility. This is the biggest building site in County Roscommon and it must be done right because the people in the area cannot lie in their beds at night in fear of a repeat of what happened the other evening.

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