John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome my colleague and friend, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, to the House. I wish to put on the record of the House the Minister of State's commitment to addressing flooding across the country alongside the OPW. The Minister of State is on record as having expressed his frustration - deep frustration at times - in being unable to spend the money his Department has been allocated to introduce flood mitigation measures and to protect homes and businesses. I am, therefore, delighted we are getting an opportunity to speak about a very important issue to so many people across the length and breadth of the country.

In my county of Waterford, the OPW has spent over €29 million on flood protection measures, both major and minor works, over the past decade. A very significant portion of that funding was spent on phases 1 to 4 of the Waterford city flood defence scheme, which included flood protection measures in the village of Dunmore East. I am not against new ideas, I am not against mitigation measures, I am not against - in fact, I support - nature-based solutions and I support avoiding building on floodplains. However, I also support hard engineering measures in the case of flood protection. The reason I do is that I have seen first-hand the benefit it has had for my city of Waterford, the first city in Ireland to be fully protected from floodwaters. I think back to when I was Mayor of Waterford city in 2014 and a night in March, I believe, when the St. John's River broke its banks. We were in the process of carrying out flood relief measures in the area in the construction of flood defence walls when the river broke its banks and flooded about 30 homes. I was there on the ground putting in place sandbags to stop the water going through people's houses from front to back. Then I had the pleasure only 12 or 18 months later, when I was Mayor a second time, to be back at the same location in Poleberry to open up the flood defence measures and a fantastic walking and cycling way which has been built all along the riverbank of the River Suir. That is an example of a hard engineering measure which has worked very successfully. It has saved over 600 houses and businesses from being continually devastated by floodwaters, having experienced such devastation for decades previously. Therefore, while I support mitigation measures and soft measures, we also have to realise that hard engineering solutions have a key role to play in protecting towns and cities like mine from the devastation floodwaters bring. I know the Minister of State has been frustrated by opposition to many of those schemes. I think of Cork city. Time and time again we see politicians and business people sweeping water out of their businesses. We need to get on with carrying out those flood protection defences, and I know the Minister of State is absolutely committed to that.

If I may be slightly parochial, I know the Minister of State has visited Ardmore. Over €70,000, I think, was allocated for a coastal erosion and flood risk management study of Ardmore, but we need to see measures put in place to stop the fantastic amenity of St. Declan's Way, which the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, opened officially in Mount Melleray, stretching all the way from Ardmore up to Cashel, being already washed into the ocean. We need rock armour on that beach and we need it sooner rather than later. There are other schemes that need to be progressed in Aglish, Ballyduff and Dungarvan and its environs. I know those schemes are on the OPW project list but we really need to see them expedited as a matter of urgency, and I implore the Minister of State to take that on board. I hope he will not be continually frustrated in his role as Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW in doing what he wants to achieve in protecting homes and businesses for the people of Ireland.