Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State and congratulate him and his predecessor, the Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell, who was in that seat before him. I thank him for the work he has done with the OPW in the communities that I represent and that have been devastated by recent storms.

This morning I ask the Minister of State to make a statement on the minor flood relief scheme for the Listowel and Killocrim areas. Over the past few years, Listowel has been a lightning rod for flood events. Following on from serious flood events in the Clieveragh area of Listowel, as the Minister of State will be aware, the OPW is currently finishing a minor flood relief scheme of up to €1.3 million to ensure previous damage to homes, lives and businesses is not repeated. I thank the Minister of State and the Government for these works.

However, with our ever-increasing erratic weather patterns, flooding and wind damage are becoming all too common. The Killocrim and Listowel areas were hit by Storm Bert on 23 November, which caused severe flooding. The River Feale overflowed reaching record heights surpassing 4.2 m, the highest levels since records began in 1946. This unprecedented flood submerged large areas of Listowel, again destroying more than 70 homes and businesses and causing significant damage to the famous the Listowel Racecourse. I stated before that the emergency response went from saving homes to saving lives. This was weeks out from Christmas, families were left homeless and a full clean up began. Costs were applied for through humanitarian aid.

One of the biggest concerns post the flooding was the fact that this perfect storm, which it has been identified as, hit without warning. A warning should have informed residents down the river that the levels were the highest ever seen. The emergency response teams and the public need to be made aware, through an early warning system via community text messaging, of any such future events so that personal protective equipment, PPE, can be deployed in time. This will play a crucial role in ensuring that homes are protected. In regard to the PPE, it takes 15 minutes to deploy one of these at either a front or back door or a main gate. For a person living alone to put these in situ and prevent a home from being destroyed, it takes an hour to deploy four of them, so that warning has to come before the event for this to happen.

People are living in real fear that this can happen at any time. Indeed, three weeks after Storm Bert, the threat and anxiety levels were again high as there was a snow and yellow rainfall alert. Thankfully, Kerry County Council, on that morning, delivered to the Killocrim community, which was led by the locals and Michael Brosnan, a total of 1,000 sandbags to the areas highlighted by the locals. Local knowledge was the key here as to the areas of greatest concern of breaking their banks again.

From that event, Kerry County Council commissioned a report on the flooding in conjunction with the Department, the OPW and with local community knowledge. To date the promised works have not commenced. I ask the Minister of State, on behalf of the people who cannot sleep at night, and I am not making this up, to take away and relieve the anxiety that their homes could be destroyed again in the blink of an eye. I look forward to the Minister of State's statement.

Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)
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I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I assure him that I am very aware of the recent flood event that occurred in Listowel-Killocrim in November 2024 and the devastation that was caused to many properties. I understand that the level recorded in the River Feale was the highest ever recorded and as a result a significant number of properties were affected in both the Listowel and Killocrim areas in the west of Listowel. After the event, the officials from the OPW met with the residents and Kerry County Council to review what had happened and to come up with a plan to address what measures could be put in place in advance of the larger scheme proposed for Listowel, as part of the flood risk management plan for this area. As a first step, it was agreed that Kerry County Council would engage consultants to do a factual report on the event. This report is due to be available in the coming weeks. It will then be open to Kerry County Council to apply to the OPW for funding for temporary measures, pending the commencement of the Listowel scheme for these communities, should such measures be identified. My officials will engage with Kerry County Council and its consultants on this report. Once this report is made available, the OPW will continue to engage with Kerry County Council and its consultants to assist in determining what measures may be possible to implement and the next steps to deliver these measures.

Funding for some of these measures can be considered through the OPW’s minor flood mitigation and coastal protection works scheme. This minor works scheme was introduced by the OPW on an administrative, non-statutory basis in 2009. The purpose of the scheme is to provide funding to local authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised fluvial flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative areas.The scheme generally applies where a solution can be readily identified and achieved in a short timeframe. The works to be funded are carried out under local authority powers.

Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. The matter I tabled was to the effect that works commence and that the Minister of State make a statement. What the Minister of State said was encouraging but he did not indicate when the works will commence, which is what I need to take back to my community today. If the Minister of State can expedite the works and, hopefully, allay the fears that these people are living with every day, I would appreciate that.

Listowel has been identified for the full flood relief scheme along with the Cathaoirleach's area, Kenmare, and Tralee. If the Minister of State can expedite works in these areas for the full relief scheme, that would be good. Funding will be probably an issue, but the damage caused by another event similar to Storm Bert would cost nearly as much a full flood relief scheme for the Listowel area. I invite the Minister of State to visit Listowel, Kenmare and Tralee to see the damage that has been caused by the storms.

Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)
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I thank the Senator. I will take him up on that offer.

I assure the Senator that funding is not the issue. There are certain criteria that have to be met. Working with the local authorities, it is fine to go in and do something but that may cause problems further down the track. I am fully aware of the issues that exist down there. My team met with Kerry County Council, and they are working on this. While it is not at the pace that the Senator or I would like, we have to take the necessary measures in order to ensure that whatever we do in the future will protect the people.

I assure the Senator that when I visit the area, I will examine the issue to which he refers at first hand and will come back to him on it. I know that the Senator is deeply upset and annoyed on behalf of the people in the area, particularly as they face this problem on a daily basis. If water flows down from the mountain or if the river rises, the problem that arises is who is there to help. I will be there to help the Senator, but also the people he represents.