Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was struck by some of the people I met, who told me they were affected by the floods in 2015.

Nobody could give them a guarantee it would not happen again in a few months' or a few years' time, long before the flood relief scheme is in place. We will push that as quickly as we can. We have 50 done. They worked in Bandon, Douglas, Togher and in the Tolka in Dublin. We know they work, and we have about 90 more in train.

I agree with the Deputy’s basic point. We have to look at this in the round. It is not just about flood barriers. We have to consider the impact inappropriate land use can have on flooding and drainage, as well as coastal protections. A memo went to Government yesterday from the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, around how we will manage the change that is happening to our coastline. Some of it has been happening for millennia, while some is linked to climate change. I agree we will all have to have a greater focus on adaptation as part of climate action. Climate change is a reality. Even if the world reaches net zero by 2050 - and it might not – there is much more climate change to come. It is baked in. It is going to get worse and there is going to be more of it. While reducing our emissions will make a small contribution to slowing down climate change, the most effective thing we can do to protect our people, property and infrastructure is adaptation. We will need a greater focus on that in the time ahead.

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