Lorraine Higgins (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. This is the first time I have had the opportunity to address him since he took office, so I am glad the matter is a pressing one for the people of east Galway. It is not a new issue either. The Dunkellin river has flooded on a number of occasions in the past six years and these events have had a major impact on the local people, who live in constant fear for their homes and livelihoods. Something needs to be done urgently to mitigate the threat of flooding in the area. Local residents, businesses and farmers have a right not to live in constant fear that everything they hold dear might be washed away in the next flood. All it takes for the river to burst its banks is a few inches of rainfall. In the event of a torrential downpour, many locals are left completely helpless.

Initiatives aimed at relieving the pressure from potential flood risks have been raised over the years, well before the Minister of State or I ever got into politics, but nothing constructive was ever done to help the people living along the banks of the Dunkellin river and the Aggard stream. I have witnessed such flooding during the course of my duties as a public representative and I can tell the Minister of State and his Department that they cannot act with enough haste on this issue. We must consider introducing a scheme of works on the river, perhaps through community employment initiatives, to try to resolve the problem if funding is the issue. If planning is the problem, we cannot engage enough with stakeholders and with those who might object to any works that could take place so that we can reach a solution to improve the lives of the families living along the river and give them the basic human right of safety in their homes. It is fundamentally wrong that local residents in Craughwell and Kilcolgan and all along the Dunkellin river and Aggard stream should have to become so comfortable with using sandbags as a last means of protecting their properties and families. To add insult to injury, the properties these people own are worthless as a consequence of this being allowed to happen so frequently.

I call on the Minister of State and his Department to take immediate action to implement some flooding relief measures that would be adequate to ensure that people along the Dunkellin river in County Galway no longer have to fear rainy days. I know the Minister of State is trying to do what he can on this issue, but if he is mindful of dealing with the issue, could he try to implement adequate flood relief measures as soon as possible? That would be most helpful. It is heartbreaking to see a local resident in Craughwell on the front page of The Connacht Tribunedrenched by the rain and his property surrounded by floods. It is heartbreaking that this should be allowed happen and something needs to be done with haste.