Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I propose to share time with Deputy Michael Healy-Rae.

Climate change has a considerable impact on flood risk in Ireland. This means rising sea levels, increased wave action, potential winter rainfalls and intense rainfall events. Other factors are changes in land use through house building and other building developments. These are factors that we cannot control. However, what we do have control over is calling on the Government to be held accountable. It must make a commitment to provide an update on the implementation of the investment programme. That will give transparency to impacted local citizens and keep them fully updated.

In its 2018 report the OPW stated that it will continue the minor works scheme as long as the funding is available. As a builder, I know how important it is to do maintenance. Unfortunately, the commitment by the OPW is less than credible as it only hires seasonal staff during the summer months. They are laid off during the winter at a time when they are essential. That is one of the primary reasons ongoing flooding is occurring in specific areas.

The Minister mentioned earlier all the places he visited, including Kilmallock, in County Limerick. After lobbying his office, and he was present, some works, although not all, have been carried out in Kilmallock in County Limerick. I welcome that. However, I went to Gotoon in Kilmallock yesterday to find out that the sandbags are still in place. The people are still afraid that they will be flooded because all the works have not been carried out. I am calling on the Minister to keep the OPW workers working all year round.

Maintenance has a lot to do with the issue we are discussing here today. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae said, and he is correct, that many of the roads in our counties are becoming rivers. I will mention Kilmallock one more time. There are people who are not living on a flood plain whose houses were flooded due to the road becoming the river and the culverts were not opened. Who is responsible? These people cannot get insurance again. Who is responsible? The Government is responsible. No one other than the Government is responsible.

I mentioned Abbeyfeale previously to the Minister. I visited a person, as has the Minister, who had to spend €70,000 to protect their house from falling into the river. That house was given planning permission by Limerick County Council at the time. The land was sold by Limerick County Council, yet this person had to spend €70,000 to protect the house from falling into the river.

I visited Abbeyfeale to find out that the yard, adjacent to the four other houses, is now falling into the river. They have called on the Government and they called on the previous Government to help them with the erosion that has been caused by flooding and the lack of dredging of rivers to make the water veer away from these houses, but this has not been done.

I believe that the Minister of State is competent in his position, but I am asking him to make sure that the OPW keeps its employees all year round. I am also looking for extra money for the local authorities so that they have a crew all year round to make sure that the gullies and all the drains are cleared so that the water does not flow down the road and into people's houses that are not on flood plains. A lot of this is maintenance and I call on the Minister of State to make sure that there are enough employees and that they are there during the summer and the winter. I ask the Minister not to give me the excuse that they cannot travel the land, because they can travel the rivers to do what they are doing. The machinery and the workers are there. All we need is an investment in maintenance all year round. The amount of water that will be taken off our roads will be evident after one year of doing this and it will stop the decay of our roads. We need to get the water off the roads and into the proper gullies and dykes, and to get them all cleaned out, and not have the farmers being brought to court for trying to clear rivers to save their properties.

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