Seanad debates

Wednesday, 20 January 2016

10:30 am

Photo of Michael MullinsMichael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and join colleagues in complimenting him on the hands-on approach he has taken from the word go. He interacted well with communities to give them reassurance. It is appropriate that we have this discussion in order that the members of the public who were badly impacted during Christmas and whose lives were made miserable by the awful floods can see the Government is taking this issue seriously. This is the first Government in the history of the State to tackle the issue head on and to deal with it in a proactive way. It will invest money such as the €450 million that has been allocated over the next number of years for a variety of solutions. It is evident from previous contributions that one size does not fit all and there is no easy solution to all the problems, but joined-up thinking is needed with communities and experts working together to reduce the impact of flooding, because global warming is here to stay and we will have to deal with flooding on an ongoing basis.

County Galway was seriously impacted because of a diverse range of issues. Senator Barrett alluded to the turloughs in south Galway and Deputies from the area have been in touch with the Minister of State with a variety of solutions and suggestions. Funding will be made available for the Dunkellin river project, which is welcome, and I hope An Bord Pleanála will approve it by the end of February. I have been hearing about that project since I was a small boy and that was not today or yesterday. I hope there will be action on that in the coming year.

The Minister of State was correct to pay tribute to all the people who helped during the recent crisis, including the staff of local authorities, the Civil Defence, other organisations and, in particular, local volunteers who demonstrated their concern for their fellow citizens and helped to make their lives a little more bearable.

South-east Galway, Athlone and County Roscommon were heavily impacted by the flooding caused by the River Shannon. I will not go into this because it has been referred to but I welcome the establishment of the River Shannon co-ordination group by the Taoiseach. I am not concerned about who heads it up or whether the OPW is the lead agency as long as all the groups that have a direct involvement and interest in the river are on board to work in the public interest and to ensure the work that needs to be done and the decisions that need to be made are made in the public interest to ensure the livelihoods and homes of people in this area. As well as drawing on the technical expertise of the various groups, I urge them to draw on local knowledge and experience. There is nobody better than those on the ground who have experienced flooding through the decades to provide valuable information.

I thank the Minister of State for visiting Ballinasloe on 23 December 2015 and for meeting the people who were impacted. The visit was much appreciated, as was the announcement for funding for work on the Deer Park river. The county council applied for funding and he immediately approved that. That will have an impact. Ballinasloe is an interesting case. The flooding in 2009 impacted approximately 160 homes and businesses. The floods on this occasion were worse but the number of premises impacted reduced to approximately 20 because of the investment made in 2012 to build a defence wall, which protects the homes in Derrymullen. It saved 120 houses from being impacted this time. Work done on the East Bridge also helped. That was a positive investment by the State but more needs to be done.Michael Tully of the Ballinasloe Flood Alleviation Group made a fine presentation during the Minister of State's visit. I had them here in Leinster House to meet the Minister of State some months previously. Their proposals and suggestions very much mirror the proposals and solutions being put forward under the catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, project. Last Monday week, approximately 100 local people attended a meeting in Ballinasloe and proposed a number of solutions.

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