Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very grateful for the opportunity to address the Seanad on matters relating to flooding and flood prevention for which I am responsible as Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works.

The summer of 2012 was a very poor one with cold and wet weather across all areas of the country. Preliminary reviews by Met Éireann confirm what we all experienced at individual level. The Poulter index is a method of rating the summer weather from June to August, using a formula based on mean temperature, rainfall and sunshine for selected stations. The higher the index, the better the summer weather. On this rating Ireland experienced its worst summer in 26 years and the Cork Airport weather station reported its worst summer since records began there in 1962. Rainfall totals were above average everywhere with the highest summer percentage values measured in the south. Recorded levels at Fermoy were 224% above the long-term average. Rainfall levels in June alone were nearly three times above average.

There is no firm evidence that this level of variability is reflective of anything more than natural variations in our weather. It is notable to record that a recent report on water levels in the River Shannon noted that water level records confirm the widely held perception that late summer flooding on the River Shannon has been significantly greater in the past decade than over the previous four decades. However, before this, late summer flooding in the 1940s and 1950s was more frequent than in the years since 2002.

Inevitably, greatly increased levels of rainfall bring increased incidence of flooding and the south of the country and County Cork in particular suffered serious flooding events this summer. The pattern of rainfall experienced in the Cork area this summer, especially in June, where quite localised torrential downpours occurred over a relatively short time period, contributed greatly to the extreme flooding in the area. This form of pluvial flooding event was also the main contributory factor in the extreme flooding experienced in the Dublin region in October 2011. One must have regard to the dreadful effect this has on local communities. To have one's productive land inundated and cut off by floodwaters is equally distressing. I am very much aware of the impact of the flooding this summer on homeowners, businesspeople and farmers. I have travelled around the country to see some of the places affected and I recognise it has a deeply traumatic effect not just on individuals but on the entire community. I am very much aware of the hardship and loss suffered as a result of flooding and I welcome the opportunity to place on the record of this House my personal concern and that of the Government for the victims of the flooding.

I acknowledge the tremendous work delivered locally by the emergency services and other State agencies during these flood events. The response of the emergency services, An Garda Síochána, the local authority, the HSE and Civil Defence is always critical in these situations in helping both to lessen the impact and speed the recovery. I also acknowledge the fantastic co-operation and help that was delivered within the communities affected. I refer to one community I visited a week after a flooding event in Clonakilty in June. Within a matter of days the main street was open again for business which was because of the tremendous effort and pride of the local people who were not going to be beaten back by this and refused to walk away. They had all their businesses operational again. Tremendous gratitude is due to the people of Clonakilty and elsewhere who have shown that kind of spirit to fight back when such incidents occur.

A fund of ¤10 million has been made available for humanitarian assistance needs arising from flood and other related events. The scheme is administered by the community welfare service of the HSE on behalf of the Department of Social Protection. The aim of the scheme is to provide financial support for people who have suffered flood damage to their homes. The community welfare service provides emergency financial and other assistance for households affected by flooding to cover items such as clothing, food, bedding, heating, etc. Qualified households can claim for essential household items such as carpets, flooring, furniture and white goods.

The financial impact of flooding on homeowners and businesses can be very serious. While the humanitarian aid scheme can help, most people will be reliant on their insurance policies to protect them against the worst of the financial cost and loss arising. In this regard, I am aware of the difficulties some people have experienced in securing insurance cover for flood risk at affordable prices or at all. Insurance companies make their own assessment of risk in any particular case. However, in areas where flood defence and alleviation works have been carried out, I cannot accept that any property protected by those works would not be able to receive a quote for insurance at reasonable cost. My officials in the OPW and I are engaged with the insurance industry to agree a format for providing information on existing flood defences in order that insurance companies have the best possible information on which to base their risk assessments.

The OPW is committed to doing all it can to alleviate the impact of flooding through the provision of defences to reduce existing flood risk and by taking steps to manage and reduce flood risk in the future through a strategic and sustainable approach under the national catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, programme. That is a big phrase but CFRAM is quite straightforward. We have divided the country into six areas based on river basin districts. Between now and 2013 we are carrying out a systematic survey, which is in draft form, with regard to the predictability or probability of flood events in those six areas. We will have all the maps produced by the end of 2013 and the plan is that by 2015, following the EU directive in this regard, we will have a flood risk management plan for each of those areas, setting out the appropriate actions required to minimise or reduce the risk of flooding. CFRAM, which sounds like a big bureaucratic phrase, effectively means that the country is divided into six areas, and we are doing the work based on the evidence to find out the risks - the 100 year risk, for example - of a flooding event in each of those six regions. Those maps are on the OPW website. They are in draft format and by the end of next year we will have reached a conclusion based on consultation with and support from local authorities. By the end of 2015, we will have a management plan for the country on which we will sign off at EU level. There will be significant resource implications in this regard. At least we have a plan that will be based on evidence.

While the CFRAM programme looks to the future, much work is being done now to address the flooding problems we currently face. The Government is committed to dealing with the flooding problems that affect cities, towns and communities across the country. This commitment is underpinned by a significant capital works investment programme by the OPW, which, with expenditure on maintenance of arterial drainage schemes, will see up to ¤250 million being spent on flood relief measures in the next five years. In a very difficult fiscal round in which there have been significant reductions in capital expenditure and there is pressure across all Departments on capital expenditure, I am grateful for the support I have received from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, and we have given a commitment to spend ¤250 million over a five year period. This is because, by definition, it takes a long time to work up a major scheme, make sure we have the correct hydraulic assessment, local buy-in and support and the correct planning and development, and then draw down the funds to meet that requirement. This is a long-term business with no quick fix solution in many of these cases. We are talking about longer term plans that will be rolled out systematically across the country. I am grateful for the support we have received from colleagues around the Cabinet table and for this envelope of ¤250 million over a five year period. It is a significant investment that allows us to carry out works at Fermoy, Mallow, Clonmel, Carlow and Bray and on the Dodder and Tolka rivers in Dublin - the former being phase 2 of the project - while projects at Waterford, Ennis and the River Wad are ready to proceed.

Outside the main urban areas, there are many areas of the country affected by serious localised flooding events, and it is important that these areas receive assistance. One of the most flexible schemes operated by the OPW is the minor works scheme. It is straightforward enough. A local authority applies to our Department for funding of up to ¤500,000 in respect of flood alleviation schemes or projects that would help protect householders or commercial properties in a particular area. That application goes to the OPW. There is a transparent system whereby we assess that application on a value for money basis and if it comes out in a positive way, we will allocate funds to the local authority to spend on that minor scheme. Thus, it is not just about the big schemes of which people are aware and which we have completed or will soon complete. It is also about the minor schemes, which can have a large impact on a local authority area. To date, over ¤27 million has been allocated to 33 city and county councils for more than 370 minor works across the country. Every second week I make announcements. I use this opportunity to impress upon local authorities that when we put a local authority in funds for a particular scheme, it should get on and do the work, because the funding will not be there forever. There is an obligation to get on with it. Not only is this important in terms of flood alleviation, it is also important for local employment because many of these projects involve local contractors which win contracts through the local authorities.

I thank the House for allowing me the opportunity to address this important issue. In the wake of severe flood events, there can be an understandable expectation that relief and mitigation measures can be implemented quickly. In some cases, if the event is very localised, the measures needed may be relatively straightforward and can be implemented in a short timeframe. However, often the problems are of such a scale that a major scheme of capital works is required to deal effectively with the situation. Such schemes involve complex engineering and construction operations which can affect people's lives and the built and natural environment. It is crucial that the public is with us on this. There is no point in working up a major scheme and then finding out that when we go to hit the button to proceed with the funding, there are widespread objections. We saw a case in Dublin last year in which my Department wanted to put Dublin City Council in funds for a significant flood alleviation measure but the community had objections to it, which I can understand. I appeal through this House to local authorities to make sure there is buy-in on the ground so that when it gets to the point of implementing these things, the public supports us. It is important that the work is done correctly and achieves its objectives. I assure the House that the OPW strives always to ensure that the significant investment by the State in flood relief works and flood management achieves a clear reduction in the risk and impact of flooding on society and results in a real and appreciable improvement in the quality of people's lives. When I came to the OPW, I asked the expert flood alleviation section, through the engineers, to say how big this problem is. They told me that, technically, there are about 250 hot spots across the country where there could be significant flooding events, which could cause devastation to those communities. This is part of a long-term programme. It will not be fixed overnight. Other countries are ahead of us in this regard; however, I recognise that the previous Government started this work, there was significant funding there and we are continuing that. It is work that we must do in good times or bad because of the impact it has on communities across the country. Our task is to work with those communities to get the best possible result.