Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Rural Independent Group for tabling this important motion. I wish to examine the impact of a level of flooding that used to occur only once every 100 years but now occurs every couple of months. I know this best because I live in County Mayo. At one time, only certain areas there were subject to flooding. Now, however, more areas become flood zones whenever there is a storm or rain. The people affected are living in fear of every storm and rainfall, but they should not have to.

I will discuss what happened to the Mayo local authority's outdoor staff. I am sure it happened in other local authorities as well. Staff numbers have been cut time and again down the years, meaning that basic services and maintenance like cleaning rivers and drains and necessary minor works have not been undertaken because there has been no one to do so. This has happened at the expense of local people. The cost of removing staff who were doing a valuable job was never considered.

Farmers and other landowners are not allowed to undertake basic maintenance. In areas of special designation in particular, they are prevented from doing the practical things that would prevent flooding.

There has been too much talk about some schemes. For example, the scheme in Crossmolina has been talked to death, yet there has not been proper consultation. In many situations, local landowners, businesses and homeowners know what needs to be done. Where Crossmolina is concerned, they know that the River Deel did not overflow years ago. Silt has been allowed to build up over the years and is constantly causing flooding. There needs to be better consultation with local people who know what the solutions are. I am not taking away from the fact that design and planning are necessary, but far too much money is being spent on design, planning and consultants.

The Government's €1 billion investment over the national development plan up to 2027 is very welcome but there has to be accountability around it with regard to who is in charge and where they are. Who is accountable? What monitoring and measuring is being done on the implementation of these plans? Where is the money being spent?

The money to local authorities also needs to be ring-fenced to do this so we are not constantly in a crisis management situation. When I leave home on a Monday or a Tuesday morning I never know if I will be able to get here or not. I live on the Mullet Peninsula and the road is constantly flooded at Bundoola when the whole peninsula is cut off. People trying to access hospitals or to get out just do not know what is going to happen. We are in the lap of the gods every time.

There needs to be work done and it needs to be speeded up. Everything is happening too slowly. We then have situations like that in Westport where money was allocated four years ago and yet the work still has not been done. Carrowholly has also continued in the same way where the work has not been done. On-the-ground staff need to be appointed and we need accountability and tracing of the works that need to be done. When the work is done, those places need to be taken out of the flood risk areas so if people want to sell their homes the values of the homes are not completely depleted also.

We want to work with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, and with others in getting solutions to this, but we need to see much more action, and quicker. We need to consult, listen to and feed back to the people on the ground about flooding. It is not right that communities are living in fear of the next downpour.

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