Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I again thank the House for the opportunity to engage with Members directly on flooding matters. I am aware of the significant impact on communities and of the distress caused by and the continued risk of flooding. I have seen impact of flooding on people and on their homes, businesses and farms at first hand. I fully recognise the hardship experienced by all those who have been affected by flooding.

The OPW is the lead agency for flood management and has a vital role in co-ordinating the delivery of the national flood risk management programme and addressing the flood risk relating to rivers and the sea. As stated earlier, the Government has committed €1.3 billion to delivery of flood relief schemes over the lifetime of the national development plan in order to protect approximately 23,000 properties in communities that are at significant coastal flood risk. Since 2018, as part of the phased approach to delivery, this funding has allowed the OPW to triple the work of flood relief schemes in partnership with local authorities to 100. Those schemes are in the design, planning and construction phases at this time. The OPW and local authorities will continue to progress 11 schemes currently at construction stage. Upon completion, these schemes will provide protection to 2,900 properties at an estimated cost benefit to the State regarding potential damages and loss of €360 million. In addition, the schemes in early delivery stages are being progressed by the OPW and its delivery partners towards planning and construction completion.

Nobody in the House knows more about and has seen more distress caused by flooding than I have in my town and as I visited towns and villages throughout the country when I was last a Member of the Dáil. In 2018, I brought forward the CFRAM programme, to which there was huge opposition but which I felt it was going to be the bible going forward when it came to flooding. The biggest task I faced at that time to get funding, including the €1.3 billion to which I refer, to combat flooding in order that we might move forward.

I recognise that all Members have issues in their constituencies and that we all have to work collectively. This is not about politics; it is about people suffering and about those who get up in the morning and think that there are people in this House who are here to work for them as opposed to knocking one another. I emphasise the €550 million spent on completed schemes to date. The figure for minor works stands at €68.5 million. This is real progress. While I acknowledge that people in the House may say it is slow, the planning period to get from A to B is 11 years. If I had a magic wand, I would not be standing in front of the House today. I would be out there waving it. One thing I can say is that with OPW working alongside the local authorities, I can see where the blockages lie. I intend to tour the country during the summer recess to try to speed up processes for better engagement in places where I think we can deliver on schemes. We have given local authorities up and down the country 50 engineers to drive forward and improve the delivery of schemes. This is not a silver bullet, but it gives local authorities the support they need to deliver on those important schemes.

There has been a lot of talk about insurance. The Minister of State, Deputy Troy, is actively working with my Department on that matter. Again, I have to give him the time to do that. There has also been a great deal of talk about the Shannon. When I was previously a Minister of State, we looked at nine pinch points along the Shannon corridor. We removed seven of these. I have to be honest and say very little has happened since. There is a programme of tree maintenance along the Shannon with Waterways Ireland. While some people have views about the different bodies connected to the Shannon, I can honestly say that I work with every one of them and am very happy with the progress we are making together. The Shannon co-ordinating group does major work along the river. It will continue to do that work.

Every person who contributed to the debate mentioned different areas. I recently visited Midleton and saw the interim work done there. That is something we are moving on with local authorities. Interim solutions are very important. While they are interim in nature, they offer some level of cover to those people. I have seen Whitechurch, about which some Deputies have commented. I met with residents, and they are thrilled to see that work. People ask that the work go faster, but once you start, you say it takes 11 years. One thing people forget when you are building flood defences is that 95% of the work is underground. Only 5% is above ground. Wherever the OPW works collectively with local authorities, it leaves towns or villages an awful lot better off than they were when it arrived. That is very reputable.

I thank my Department and the staff of the OPW, the people on the ground and those on the front line. They have worked tirelessly for me and with me on behalf of the people of Ireland. I know the areas I need to look at going forward. There has been a lot of talk about river cleaning. That is a matter I am looking at. I am also looking at the minor works scheme. There has also been much talk about tranche 2 schemes, and a lot of work can be done on those. I will continue to work with everyone in the House. I thank Members for their contributions.

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