Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to bring the perspective of the residents who endure the constant flooding that happens in their areas, particularly, the residents of Springfield, Clonlara. I attended a public meeting there before Covid-19 hit Ireland in early March and was horrified at the stories relayed to me by these residents. These people endure extreme stress and some would call it trauma. We have had incidents where residents have ended up trapped in the car while trying to access a road close to their houses. These people endure an awful lot of stress and cannot even get home insurance on their properties any longer.

Now, we have all suffered nationally in similar ways. We are dealing with Covid-19 and have had to make huge adaptations to our everyday lives. That is exactly what these residents endure every year. We are talking about Christmas time as well. People had to vacate properties for long periods, sometimes for two to three weeks, and stay in a hotel. Like any other ordinary family, some families have children with special needs and children with their own needs that need to be looked after and they must to do this from a hotel room. It is absolutely unacceptable. One river agency is absolutely needed for the sake of the residents.

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