Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)

I welcome this opportunity to contribute on the crucial issue of flood relief schemes. My home county of Kilkenny has borne the brunt of devastating floods far too often in recent times. We do not need to look too far into the past; we all remember the damage done across Kilkenny by Storm Babet in 2023, when the banks of the River Nore broke, leaving Kilkenny city suffering heavy flooding and scores of homes, businesses and roads submerged. During the same storm, Thomastown also suffered heavy flooding.

This was far from an isolated incident. Heavy and persistent rainfall kept the risk of flooding high for months. These incidents show just how vulnerable Kilkenny city and the likes of Thomastown are to flooding. While I acknowledge that some progress has been made on projects like the Kilkenny city and Ballyhale flood relief schemes, it is disappointing to see that the Thomastown flood relief scheme has been kicked far down the road. There is no current timeline for planning, let alone commencement, and this neglect is unacceptable. We need to support growth in towns like Thomastown across Ireland.

How do we expect someone to invest in the community and to take the challenge of setting up a business or buying a home in the town when he or she cannot even get home or business insurance to cover premises in the event of flooding? A lack of insurance has taken a heavy toll on the town. We have fewer and fewer families living in parts of the town due to flood risk. The reality is that people do not want to run the risk of investing in the heart of Thomastown. Families living in the town live in constant worry of their homes being submerged once again. People are sick and tired of the damage, the long clean-up process and putting down fresh flooring over and over again. There is a heavy cloud of uncertainty hanging over the whole town. At the start of the month, there was more flooding in Thomastown. A local business that had served Thomastown for decades was left crippled due to flood damage.

We are fortunate to have such a strong community and emergency service, which have all worked around the clock to help the community in times of crisis. It is disappointing to see the Thomastown flood relief scheme being kicked down the road. We need the scheme made a priority by the OPW. The floods in Thomastown are not once-in-a-lifetime floods. Thomastown cannot wait an average of 11 years.

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