Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Politics in Ireland has gone so bad that people comment politically on essential flood relief work on the River Dodder which impacts Dublin and even Dunboyne and Mornington, County Meath. There were problems along this river but schemes put in place by the Office of Public Works, OPW, have ensured they have been tackled.

The Government needs to take climate change seriously and stand up to some of the vested interests which have stopped action being taken on it. Those vested interests, I will admit in fairness, were relatively influential in the previous Government too when a fairly good climate change Bill was to be put forward. It is not that we can hold back the tide but that we prevent matters getting worse.

My only criticism of how this has been handled is that when a storm or flood occurs, there is not enough of an immediate response from central government and local authorities in directing assistance. Over the Christmas, people were left swinging in the wind. I know the approach has changed and the Minister has been very active on this. I accept he cannot be everywhere either. A more centralised approach, however, a one-stop shop at national level that councils could feed into is required. If my home were flooded, I am not sure who I would ring. Would I ring the Meath County Council emergency line? More work needs to be done at that level to give people that bit of help.

Emergency information on where to go and not to go is also required. We are relying on tweets from AA Roadwatch, bystanders and politicians. For example, one night I tweeted that there trees down in my neighbourhood which found its way on to the website journal.ie. There should be a central information authority in emergency situations giving out this information. For example, two lorries have been blown on to their sides on a motorway and a national road this afternoon in Limerick. That information should not just be given out by AA Roadwatch or private individuals. There needs to be a centralised structure that determines the important information to give to citizens.

The weather warnings have been very useful. Having slept through an orange alert cold weather warning in a tent last summer in France, I am not too worried about them too much personally. However, today, we had a red warning which has proved to be the case. Is this just a meteorological matter or should it invoke response from central government? Someone asked why schools were not closed today. Lectures at University College Cork were cancelled today and students told to stay indoors. This is happening after the event when it could have been announced with the warning.

Fianna Fáil will assist the Government in dealing with the insurance issue. This is just not an issue when floods occur but one that is ongoing even in areas where relief programmes were introduced. I have corresponded with the Minister on this matter. Will the Minister of State also address the issue of the prospect for European funds to alleviate the recent flooding?