Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber and thank him for the very positive day we had recently in Limerick. He met many people from rural and urban areas of the county. He is aware of a number of ongoing issues, and I would like to highlight some of them. During the meeting we discussed embankments and areas where there had been flooding and there is ongoing work. I compliment the council workers who have done great work. They have engaged in consultation with the Department on building up some of the banks, walkways and flood relief defences.

Land owned by a farmer in rural Limerick is subsiding into a river and there has been a lot of consultation with the local authority and Department. The farmer has been told the situation will be kept under observation. That is all very well, but the land has been under observation for five years and he still has no commitment that defences will be erected on his land. While I know the Minister of State cannot comment on individual cases, it is important that work is committed to in a positive light in respect of those living in rural Ireland.

There has been a lot of very positive work. After the Minister visited Limerick in January, different areas of the city flooded. Water rose in Merchants Quay beside the local authority and courthouse. When one part is fixed the problem is pushed further down river. We have to consider solutions to these issues.

While successful work was carried out on Clancy Strand, O'Callaghan Strand was subject to a lot of flooding at the end of January when there were very heavy waters. It often boils down to the fact that gullies had not been cleaned. When people contact my office about gullies I report the problem straight away because it is very important that the local authorities carry out an extensive cleaning of them, especially when leaves have fallen. It is a major issue in some areas.

The Minister of State got a very firm view on what happened and what needs to happen. I thank him for his visit. Some projects are coming from the local authority and I ask him to consider them. Rural and urban areas of Limerick have experienced a fair amount of flooding over the years. Any help he can provide to support projects from his €1 billion budget for flood defences would be most welcome.