Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is late at night and we are all tired but this is balderdash. TII did the hydrological studies and everything else and it did not put in big enough culverts. We argued, as did farmers who knew the area and its topography, but it did not listen. Now we have a problem because it will not do maintenance. It cannot just develop a project. People cannot just build a house and forget to clean the chutes. We have this folly every time we ask a question about flooding. We hear about climate change. It just does not cut it for me. We are not climate change deniers but rivers are not cleaned and neither are gullies or streams. What happens? Every bit of dirt that runs off of this building ends up in a river, as is the case with every other building, field and roadway. I do not say forget about climate change but we need to clean the river basins and above all maintain the motorways. It makes me very angry to listen to people blame climate change. We can get downpours of rain but if the gullies and culverts are cleaned and maintained, they will take 90% of it. There might be a 10% to overflow. We see farmyards flooded because of a torrent of rain. The same places were flooded 20 years ago during the development of the motorway, or before it was developed. There are issues.

TII, which was the NRA, is not maintaining or looking after the curtilage of the projects. In the case of ordinary roads the county council workers are not on the ground and we all know this. Maintenance is not being done. The hard-pressed taxpayers and ratepayers are being discommoded, with their businesses and homes destroyed. Numerous houses and businesses in Thurles were flooded. They will not get insurance because it is a recurring event.

It is mainly because of blocked gullies and inverts. That is basic maintenance and it is not being done.

The Minister of State said to go back to their existing budget. They cannot, on 1 November, go back. The budget is expended in normal years but this year, especially because of the increased costs of materials, the budget is completely expended. They need a dig-out from the Department.

Above all, we need to revisit this and do maintenance, not fire brigade work, afterwards.

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