Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is another opportunity to discuss the plans of the Minister of State for flood prevention and defences throughout the State. The Minister of State will appreciate if I focus my comments on Donegal and the aftermath of the flooding there. I wish to acknowledge that the Minister of State came up straight away when the flooding occurred in August in Inishowen and east Donegal. The Minister of State saw it for himself. He spent some days there and I wish to acknowledge that. I know he has been back since and has spent some days in the county. I believe the Minister of State is personally genuine about addressing the issues at play.

I will start with the big one at Burnfoot, although I could look across the Inishowen peninsula and east Donegal in discussing the areas flooded. We could have said that it was an act of God. The amount of rain that fell that night was horrendous.

The Minister of State inherited this challenge as this happened before his time. Burnfoot should have had flood defences built long ago. It has flooded again and again over the years. There are people who live in the council houses in Pairc an Ghrianán in Burnfoot and who say that it has flooded a dozen times perhaps. They have flood gates at the back of their homes. A cost-benefit analysis, which is a crude way of looking at these things, was carried out. As a consequence, almost the entire village was flooded. As the Minister of State is aware, probably 25 or 30 people were put out of their homes and many businesses were flooded too. It is vital that we get flood defences up at Burnfoot. I wish to acknowledge that on the day he visited, the Minister of State committed to building flood defences. Anytime I have raised the matter with the Minister of State, he has said that he is committed to making it happen, and I wish to acknowledge as much today. I hope the Minister of State can give an update. I appreciate that at the moment the engineering consultants RPS are carrying out works at Burnfoot. I hope we can get to a stage soon when an official announcement can be made.A related issue is that Donegal County Council has advised the council tenants that they will not be back in their homes this year and that has caused consternation. I would appreciate it if the Department could liaise with the council. I assume the council has sought assurances that flood defences would be built before people are put back in their homes. Perhaps there is an issue in regard to sequencing, or dialogue is required. I encourage the Minister of State to bring that issue to the fore and take advantage of it being in the public domain as I know people are listening in to the debate today.

The other issues affecting the Inishowen Peninsula are Quigley's Point at Tromaty. I am sure the officials are taking notes of the discussions. I know some officials were at Tromaty and Quigley's Point recently and gave some assurances to local people, which is key. The Point Inn has been closed for six months affecting approximately 20 jobs. The business is very popular locally so we need to get it opened again. Some homes are under threat so there is a bit of work involved.

There is a riverside walk in Carndonagh that was destroyed and a bridge linking a local council estate to other amenities that must be looked at. Homes adjacent to the rivers in Carndonagh were under threat and businesses were seriously impacted. I ask that the OPW would take another look at the rivers in Carndonagh to see what could be done.

There are concerns about the Riverside housing development in Clonmany and other homes in the village that were flooded. There is an issue with land that was realigned close to the location of the three arch bridge at Clonmany. A number of rivers run under the bridge and make their way out to sea. In a response I received from the Department I was told that no problems had been identified with Clonmany. The Department must go back and look at Clonmany as there is definitely a need for some work to be done, although it is not significant.

Half a dozen families are out of their homes in Elm Park in Buncrana and work needs to be carried out. Different points along the Crana River need to be addressed. In fairness to the OPW, it is looking at the issue but it is important that I would put such issues on the record today so the officials can revisit them. Issues arise in east Donegal in the Finn Valley where work remains to be done in Castlefinn and Lifford. I know the Minister of State has committed to work being done in west Donegal as my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, has acknowledged his efforts there.

I wanted to put all that on the record today in order that the officials can revisit some of those issues. Donegal County Council and other local authorities are responsible for some rivers and the OPW is responsible for other rivers. Inland Fisheries Ireland is responsible for other waterways. Perhaps it has been done but, if not, it is necessary to publish a list of streams, burns, rivers and tributaries in each county. It needs to be put on the public record who is responsible for each river, burn or stream and to provide a contact number if there is a need to engage. That would mean farmers, business people or other persons with a concern about the maintenance of a river could engage with those responsible. The situation was an eye-opener for me. It is correct that there are legal and environmental constraints about what can be done on a river. For example, if a farmer puts up an embankment on the land it can impact on somebody downstream so it is right and proper that there should be procedures and protocols. It is important that local authorities and the OPW would publish a full list of all streams, burns and rivers in every county, stating who is responsible for it and who one goes to to seek permission or consult with on any proposed works or maintenance.

A dedicated budget must be put in place so that the various authorities have funding available to them, working in partnership. The maintenance of rivers is a big challenge. A very good event was organised in the Inishowen Peninsula by Inishowen Waters. Various people were there, including people from the Department. The intention was to try to educate people about river maintenance and how we can all work together to address the challenges. Given climate change we know we are, unfortunately, going to face more such weather events.

The Minister of State has a tough job but he went out and met people. He did not hide away. He met them over a number of days and he has done that a number of times. I appreciate that. He has not tried to hide or to avoid the issues. I hope something can be officially announced soon about Burnfoot in particular. It is a big deal. I also hope to hear some announcements on areas that are works is progress. I commend the Minister of State on securing €1 billion in the national development plan. It will go a long way to protect communities and do what is right. I say that as an Opposition Member. This is above and beyond politics. When the floods happen all over the country it is a case of all shoulders to the wheel. It does not matter whether one belongs to a political party or not, it is about helping one's community through a crisis and protecting them in the future. This is about what is best for the country. The €1 billion will go a long way towards that. I commend the Minister of State in that regard and I hope to work with him more in the future.