Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State back to the floor of the Seanad. It is unfortunate that I have to raise this Commencement matter again. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, for coming to receive it. I need to raise this issue of critical and urgent importance for the people of north Kerry, specifically the need for immediate commencement of short-term flood relief works in the Listowel and Killocrim areas. In March of this year, the Office of Public Works, OPW, gave a very clear commitment that temporary flood mitigation works would be carried out in both areas. That commitment was made in response to the disastrous flooding that struck in November - eight months ago - where homes, roads, farmlands and businesses were simply destroyed and, in some cases, devastated. In Listowel, several families were forced to evacuate and some are still not back in their homes. That is the worrying thing. In Killocrim, entire stretches of agricultural land were submerged.

The emotional and financial impact of that flooding is still being felt. This is July and the last time I spoke to the Minister of State, the sun was shinning. At the start of this week, there was a status yellow rain alert in north Kerry again. It sent ripples of fear through people. The rain that fell was more than a status yellow warning. As I said, the sun was shinning in July but in July 2022, the sun was also shining. We experienced three storm floods in that month that caused havoc, wreckage and carnage in all the areas.

We had a Listowel municipal district meeting on Monday morning with all the public representatives. They went crazy when they were told there was no starting date. They do not know what the OPW is playing at. They all made their feelings known on behalf of the people in those areas. It is not the representatives doing the war dance, but the people in the affected areas who had their houses flooded. I mentioned it to the Minister of State here that things went from saving homes to saving lives on that November day. That is how critical it was. I am not making it up. People are living in fear. Let us be absolutely clear that we are fast approaching the period when there is a threat of heavy rainfall, which we are seeing. The communities of Listowel and Killocrim cannot go through another season vulnerable to the same devastation they experienced just eight months ago. These short-term works are not optional, they are urgent and overdue.

It is recess next week. The severity of the November flooding has been acknowledged. The reports are done and everything is done. The waiting is over, as far as I am concerned. Therefore, I call on the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW to confirm to the public and the people of north Kerry when exactly these works will begin. I thank the Minister of State.