Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

If we could use studies, reports and commitments to stop water coming into houses, we would be well set because the Government has plenty of them. However, we are not seeing the jobs being started to fix the flood defences around the country. When I ask the Minister of State about these flood defences, he can give loads of excuses. The Minister of State is actually fluent in excuses. If excuses were a language, he would be able to teach it to people. The truth of the matter is we need more than excuses in terms of helping people.

I offer one example of a person whose home was inundated in the Storm Babet flood. She did her best to help her neighbours but they realised the deluge was so big that there was no way they would save anything. They got out of their houses with the water up to their chests. Since then, they have been practically living on the second floor of their homes. They cannot get access to the bottom floor because they do not have the money from the State to enable them to do the work there. All the while, they are facing into the prospect of years more of floods in Midleton. These families need to know when the Government is going to fix the flood defences.

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