Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

This is characteristic of the Fine Gael part of the Government. It promises a wall and then, when people ask where it is, it says that three blocks of the wall are in place. The people then say they were told they would get a wall but that there is no wall at the moment. The Minister of State mentioned 2,000 homes being protected by flood defences. There was a report in 2021 which stated that 70,000 homes are in danger of flooding, but the Minister of State is offering protection to 2,000 homes in response. The cost of defending those 70,000 homes would be €2 billion. All I am saying is that the level of effort by the Government is miniscule relative to the size of the crisis. The Minister of State blames an inability to solve issues on planning and the courts. The courts system is also glacial. The reason for this is that it does not have the resources necessary and is managed incorrectly. It could be made faster to allow these decisions to get through the process far more quickly. There are lives at risk here. On that basis, I ask the Minister of State to address the Midleton situation in his responses to both questions.

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