Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all of the people present from all around the country, especially my neighbours from west Cork. We have had flooding in County Kerry.

I will support the Bill. As well as the people who have been helped by the OPW, there are others who have been flooded and sorted themselves out. They should be looked after too in the Bill. Culverts in housing estates were blocked and the matter was dealt with by the local authority and the people living in them. They should be included in the Bill. They need insurance just like anyone else. I was in Glenflesk, Lackabane and other places around Killarney which were flooded, when the water was flowing in the front door and out the back door. I know how the people concerned felt and how vulnerable they were. A person's home is his or her castle. It is very sad when people's homes are flooded.

The Bill asks the insurance companies to insure people where the problem has been sorted out. All other categories who have sorted themselves out and can prove why they were flooded should be included. There are many reasons flooding occurs such as the blocking of rivers. Many are still blocked. The Government should have one body or group to look after rivers. The River Shannon has not been cleared since it was cleared by the English in the 1880s.

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