Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It gave hope to local people who were devastated by what happened. One cannot imagine how awful it has been for them unless one walks in their shoes. For many, their homes will never be the same again.

I will draw on the Minister of State's point about climate change. Globally, 2014 was the warmest year since records started. December 2015 was the wettest month ever recorded in Ireland. Climate change is happening under our noses. It has not gained traction with most people in Ireland, but we must face up to it and take action. Even though we are only 4.5 million people, we should be able to give the world leadership in reducing CO2 submissions and stopping the use of fossil fuels as quickly as possible.

Turning to my personal experience, there was serious flooding in 2014 in Nutgrove Avenue close to where I live. I heard about it on the 8 a.m. news. I went there immediately. Nutgrove Avenue and the roads leading from it were completely flooded. People's homes were devastated. Six or seven little businesses were flooded and could no longer operate. As a business person, I had empathy for them. It was shocking to see.

I called Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council immediately. An engineer and another gentleman came out to the site. Fortunately, I had trained in building construction and understood what had happened. The culvert's screen for scrub and branches on the Little Dargle river in Loreto Park had become blocked, preventing water from flowing freely.

From then on, I worked closely with Mr. Paul Faughnan, the senior executive engineer for the council. In the following months, he undertook a study of the area's flooding. He concurred with me that a new screen was required. I am delighted to say that, three months ago, a state-of-the-art screen was installed on the culvert on the Little Dargle river in Loreto Park. The Minister of State referred to bad planning and so on, but defence mechanisms must be put in place immediately. I knew that the old screen was not up to scratch to prevent flooding. Manholes had also been blocked. Keeping those clear is a case of simple housekeeping. Porous covers have now been put on them. That will allow water to drain away more freely. The new screen for the culvert is of a high quality and was not cheap. It is magnificent to look at, a work of art and modern. Anyone could see that it was well designed and that there would be no further flooding.

During the floods across Ireland, a Nutgrove Avenue resident, Mrs. Honora Fitzsimons, rang to thank me for my help in getting the new culvert screen installed. She stated that she could now rest easy at night. Mr. Robbie Campbell of Campbell Motors and Mr. Peter Phelan, whose livelihoods were put in jeopardy by the 2014 flooding, have thanked me for fighting their corner.It is not about brain surgery, it is about action. While the planners knew the area was a possible flood plain, the apartments in Athlone are a perfect example of it. I compliment Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and Mr. Paul Faughnan on the energy and passion they put into making sure it will never happen again. I am confident there will be no more flooding in Loreto Avenue because of what has been installed on the Little Dargle river. I thank them sincerely. The people can now sleep and rest at night.