Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

What happened in Limerick was an exceptional event, but there was recent flooding in Waterford which caused rail services to be withdrawn. Perhaps the Minister of State might take a look at that issue. He mentioned successes in Clonmel, Kilkenny, Fermoy, Mallow and Ennis.

The Minister of State has made an important point, that coasts change. It would take an immense investment to change the Irish coastline to something like the Dutch coastline. It is a smaller country, with a much larger population and higher GDP per head. On the east coast of Ireland, Wexford Harbour, Annagassan Harbour in County Louth and Lough Shinny in County Dublin have silted up. Kilbarrack sailing club in County Dublin shut down owing to a lack of water. The coastline is changing all the time. We cannot stop the sea coming in in one place. The great Mr. William Dargan, one of the greatest railway engineers of his day, had to change the railway line around Bray Head. One can see the remains of where it ran previously. There was even talk at one stage of moving it inland. The danger is that we could spend a lot of money in accomplishing remarkably little in Cork.

Senator Martin Conway has headed off to County Clare, but I am glad to see that Mr. Donald Trump has given a vote of confidence to the Loop Head Peninsula by making a large investment. That is a gesture for the future. In the turlough areas of south Galway we built houses which had to be abandoned because water came up from the ground and flooded areas. Let us put all of these mistakes into the book and avoid repeating them. We need a realistic investment. If we are not growing much on land in the winter, should the investment be in preventing floods in urban areas where economic activities are taking place? The Minister of State has given priority to Cork where there have been far too many floods in recent times. We expect it to be a major centre in the revival of the economy.

The OPW is doing good work. I thank the Minister of State for being here and, as other speakers said, always obliging the House by coming to discuss major issues with us. We are moving in the right direction. It has been a shock to the system that we have had such a winter. I second what Senator Thomas Byrne said, that the emergency services have worked remarkably well. The Minister of State was present on the ground. Careful planning involves Parliament being concerned. Let us publish all of this and let people come and see if these are good investments for the future. Let us require a better performance from the insurance industry because an insurance industry that opts out as soon as there is a flood is not serving the country. I support the Minister of State on that point.