John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In Dundalk the flooding was not as severe as elsewhere. However, if one went north of the Ballymac roundabout last week, it was like a bomb had hit the Cooley Peninsula, it was that terrible compared to other parts of County Louth. However, in parts of Dundalk like Cluan Enda and Bay Estate in particular, there was also bad flooding because there is a problem with the drainage system. This has been a recurring problem over the last five to ten years. It is now time that people got proper answers from the local authority. If this has been consistently happening over the last decade what do we now to make it stop? I hope the OPW will be able to push that point home in its engagement with Louth County Council. The same applies to the Cooley peninsula, where much of the flooding was flash flooding from the mountains. Much of the flooding was as a result of rivers not being de-silted and properly maintained. Rivers burst their banks and destroyed homes. That type of proper maintenance really needs to happen. It is simply inexcusable that it is not done regularly throughout the year by the local authority.