Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)

Today I want to raise an issue that happened last July. A town in County Limerick had severe rainfall within a very short space of time and flooding occurred. The local residents and businesses had been raising the potential for flooding for three or four years with the council and through their local TDs' offices. I do not know whether it fell on deaf ears or was just put on the long finger but nothing was done to the drainage system in the town.

I acknowledge that since the flooding Limerick City and County Council has responded. It has dredged the rivers and opened up the eyes of the bridge again. Last week it confirmed to a newspaper that it has made an application for minor works, through the OPW, and for an overall survey. This is great but the worrying part is that it wants funding to carry out quick-fix works to alleviate short-term flooding events. What is needed for the town of Dromcolliher is a commitment for permanent solutions that will protect homes and businesses if this were ever to happen again. When we look over the past couple of years we see we have had spot flooding. We had it in Youghal the year before. I think it was Youghal; it was somewhere in Cork. It seems to be happening more often. If the drainage is not looked at correctly, and a permanent solution is not put into these towns, they are at risk of being flooded again. Businesses and homes will be ruined. A couple of homes in Dromcolliher were evacuated in July. These homes are still under construction to try to deal with the flood water. It was not only water from the river as there was sewage also coming up. These houses are uninhabitable at present and people are privately renting on top of paying a mortgage. The cost to these families and businesses is very high and a permanent solution needs to be put in place. I call on the Department to liaise with Limerick City and County Council to ensure funding for permanent solutions rather than quick fixes is put in place.