Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Last week we all saw the devastating floods in Cork. I have to say that we were very lucky in Carlow because we have a great flood relief scheme. There was only a small amount of flooding in Carlow and Kilkenny.

I want to ask the Tánaiste about the fact that we do not have a live national flood warning system and it is my understanding that we have no plans to make one publicly available. I contacted the Department about this and the latest update I received is that the Guide to Flood Emergencies by the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government was last updated three years ago and that the odds of a one-in-100-years flooding event was at 1%. This is a huge concern for me. Will the Government consider providing public access to the beta version of the live flood warning system? Will the Tánaiste put together a new working group to review weather events on a seasonal basis and produce learning for public and local authorities?

I am bringing this up because I had a really good meeting with our Carlow weatherman - I am sure the Tánaiste knows of him - Alan O'Reilly.

He gives excellent weather forecasts. He believes the Government needs to consider this. I ask the Tánaiste to look at that and come back to me.

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