Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The opportunity for people to raise these issues on the floor of the Dáil is very important to me and the Office of Public Works. In recent years, we have been at pains to point out that these are not just flood relief schemes, as they were typically called, and they are an adaptation to El Niño and the climate issues that are currently being faced by the world and not only by Glashaboy, Coirib go Cósta and everywhere else. These are schemes designed to withstand 100-year events and have the international standard that goes with that. They are complicated by nature and we have had a lot of over-and-back with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, with regard to the planning applications around some of them. However, those that have been built and delivered have been very successful, and every Deputy is aware of one that has been delivered in their own constituency. The alleviation of the mental trauma for a community when we finally hand over to the local authority for completion is what is worth it at the end of the day. I thank the Deputy and other Deputies for using the opportunity to raise this because it gives me political capital with the Minister to make sure that more can be done.

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