Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Last November serious flooding took place in my constituency in the Claregalway, Lisheenavalla, Caherlea and Carnmore areas in County Galway. The first anniversary of this flooding passed on 20 November this year and we are still awaiting confirmation of what type of relief work might be done, with nothing done as of yet.

Up to 20 families had to leave their homes at the time and some have abandoned their homes completely, living in rented accommodation while continuing to pay mortgages on the houses affected by flooding in the area. I am aware of two families in the Caherlea area whose insurers will not cover them for flood damage, quoting increases from €500 per year to almost €2,000, which is a 400% increase in premiums. These houses are worthless and people could not sell them even if they were offered for sale. Some people are very anxious to get out of the area but the Government has not provided for any relocation scheme. If a property tax is introduced in the upcoming budget, how can people be taxed on a worthless house?

Last November saw the worst flooding in a number of years but there have been threats of flooding and flooding in the area on five different occasions in the past ten years. It is constantly under threat. Two weeks ago the water rose in the area and people were worried again. This problem will not go away. People are living in constant fear and despair, which is why some sought relocation which they did not achieve. Some of the affected people would leave those houses and gladly take some of the properties owned by NAMA just to get out of the area and have peace of mind. They do not want to live in constant fear that the flooding will occur again; there is no doubt that the flooding will return. Despite this, not a spade has been put in the ground to give those people some hope.

I received correspondence from the Minister of State on 4 November, for which I thank him, but I was not very encouraged by it. The letter indicated that the main stumbling block is archaeology and it seems that Claregalway is an archaeological hot spot, with a preliminary geographical and topographical survey having been carried out. The results have been forwarded to the national monuments unit in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, which will decide on whether future investigation and monitoring is necessary prior to and during the proposed work.

Has the appropriate Minister received the report? We are sick and tired of seeking and waiting on reports. The Minister of State indicated it was not possible to give a timescale for the advance works due to the uncertainty associated with the archaeological work. He also indicated that the Office of Public Works is in the process of procuring environmental and engineering consultants needed to complete the scheme design.

How much has already been spent on the reports and any work done since the flooding? I was involved in a similar case in south Galway in 1995, when the entire area flooded, with a national school and nine houses cut off for nine weeks. The local people at the time carried out an unofficial drainage scheme, opening a channel from Kilternan national school to the sea. That area has not flooded in subsequent years, despite the fact that last November all other areas in south Galway were under six feet of water, a greater depth than the flooding in the 1990s. That is proof that the work can be done.

South Galway was in my constituency at the time when the Peach report was commissioned by the Government, costing €1.2 million. No work has been carried out in the area since. The people of Claregalway, Lisheenavalla, Caherlea and Carnmore are worried that no work will be carried out. They are living in fear and I would like the Minister of State to give me an assurance tonight. We have had many public meetings, with the Minister of State attending at least one of them in Claregalway. Great hope was given to the people that those works would be carried out but nothing has been done.

I fear very much when I hear of preliminary geographical and topographical surveys. I have met such work before in the wildlife section of the Office of Public Works but it bogs down schemes. Are people's lives not more important than these surveys? They are and people should not be condemned to live in fear of nothing being done to alleviate problems. I hope the Minister of State will have some news for those people tonight.

Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to discuss this evening the matter put forward by Deputy Mc Cormack on the flooding problems in the Claregalway and Carnmore area and the environs of the Clare river. I am pleased to say that during 2010 considerable progress has been made in Galway in addressing the many flooding problems which have afflicted the area over recent years. Following the November 2009 flooding, a joint working group, comprising the Office of Public Works and Galway County Council officials, was set up with the objective of identifying flood mitigation measures for Galway. This group was tasked with assessing the flooding impacts at over 90 locations throughout the county. In light of their assessment, the OPW has provided funding to the local authority in excess of €3 million under the minor flood works scheme in respect of a range of flood mitigation measures at more than 60 locations throughout County Galway. That is far in excess of minor flood relief works approved in any other part of the country.

The joint working group also concluded that given the extensive nature of the flooding affecting Claregalway and the Dunkellin areas, major flood studies were required to identify a plan of measures to address the significant risks involved in these areas. Subsequently, Ryan Hanley consulting engineers were commissioned by the joint working group to undertake the Clare river flood study. The study was published in June this year together with the recommendations of the joint working group, and I discussed this at a public meeting in Claregalway in July.

In essence, they have recommended a major scheme of works on the Clare river as follows. At Miontach south, the access road is to be raised and culvert sizes are to be increased together with some maintenance work on existing drains. At Miontach north, the access roads are to be raised. At Claregalway a flood eye will be installed at Claregalway bridge and the channel will be regraded from a distance upstream to under the bridge. A breach in the wall will be repaired at An Mhainister estate and a local embankment at old Nine Arches bridge will be provided. At Kiniska, the capacity of existing culverts will be increased on the OPW scheme channel and some maintenance works on the channel will be carried out. At Lakeview a surface water outlet downstream of Claregalway bridge will be provided. At Caherlea and Lisheenavalla flood eyes will be installed on Crusheen bridge and the existing channel will be widened for a distance of 900 metres upstream of Crusheen bridge to Claregalway. Islandmore drains, which are located on existing OPW scheme channels, will be cleaned and regraded.