Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and congratulate him on his excellent work in recent weeks. I have been in regular contact with him regarding flooding and I commend him on the Trojan work he is doing. I also welcome the opportunity to debate this issue today in the Seanad.

Where certain well-known areas of the country were subject to occasional flooding in the past, it now seems that there are larger areas that are not immune. There are two issues here, which the Minister of State has highlighted, namely, global warming and planning. Global warming is a fact; we can now see its effects. We have seen commentary from experts in recent weeks on what it holds in store and areas that were previously unaffected by flooding may now be prone to it. Experts warn that Ireland and the UK will be the most affected in Europe by river flooding and it is important that we make the necessary preparations. In that light, I welcome the €430 million committed by Government over the next five years for flood alleviation measures. That is more than was spent in the past 20 years, for the better part of which Fianna Fáil was in government. It is important to note the work of this Government. I also welcome planning guidelines that will make it more difficult to build in areas prone to flooding. I commend the Minister on the Environment, Community and Local Government for his consideration of a blanket ban on building on flood plains. I also commend the Minister of State on the flood-mapping exercise and consultation his Department is carrying out. When complete, this will enable the Department to devise a plan for much-needed flood defences right across the country.

The area in which I live, Claregalway, was particularly affected by flooding caused by the River Clare and by local turloughs. It is now just past the anniversary of the flooding that occurred in 2009 and that decimated parts of the area. I pay tribute to all the council workers, volunteers, and people from the Civil Defence who came out and gave of their time and energy, day and night, to help people in the local community. I visited families in Claregalway during the recent flooding and their properties were nearly under water again. The Minister of State has been excellent in following up on the planned flood relief works on the Clare river. The latest information is that it will commence in the first quarter of this year. However, the residents are seeking a date when people will be on site carrying out the final phase of these works, which are sorely needed.

I also want to raise the issue of the lack of insurance cover, which has also been raised by my colleagues this afternoon. I will again use Claregalway as an example. Parts of that area were flooded in 2009 and the properties there have been uninsurable since. While it is vital that the Clare river flood works commence as soon as possible, it is also vital that when they are complete, these people will get insurance. Many of the houses I visited were bought during the so-called boom. They are very expensive, the mortgages on them are enormous and many properties are, to all intents and purposes, worthless. I welcome the meeting the Taoiseach and the Minister of State held with the insurance industry. It was a very worthwhile exercise. One cannot expect an insurer to insure a house that is prone to flooding. Insurance is an estimation of risk and some of these homes are always at risk and uninsurable. We should, however, expect the insurance industry to insure houses that have been subject to proper flood alleviation works. I distinctly remember having a similar discussion two years ago. I know the Minister of State understands that there is little point in works being carried out if the insurance industry is not happy with these works. Conversely, the insurance industry cannot dictate unreasonable or unreachable standards.

There are too many Departments involved in and regulations relating to flood management at various levels. For example, the recent EU directive stipulates that any flood relief work permitted by the Office of Public Works must be reviewed by another Department. In Ireland's case, that Department is the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. This has slowed down the process of approval for the Clare river works, for example. The Minister of State has assured me that these works will proceed with due haste. I was interested to hear in recent weeks that the Commission said it is not in any way responsible for any delay in approving flood alleviation works. In respect of any work that might impact on the natural environment, which is nearly everything, a plethora of EU directives must be considered or obeyed. That is a simple fact. EU regulations slowed down approval for the Clare river project. That is just one example of the delays we have been experiencing.

I commend the Minister of State on his great work to date and look forward to the roll-out of these major flood alleviation projects.