Written answers

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Flood Prevention Measures

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the actions, if any, he has taken on foot of the recommendations in the report by the Joint Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht entitled "Eight proposals urgently required to tackle flooding on the River Shannon, it's tributaries and the waters feeding into it"; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43612/12]

Photo of Phil HoganPhil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The recently published report of the Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht contains a number of proposals on the issue of flooding on the river Shannon and its tributaries. The majority of the proposals come within the remit of other Departments and agencies. In relation to proposal 6, in so far as it addresses emergency management, progress has been made in recent years in addressing the specific issues mentioned in the report i.e. forecasting and communications. My Department published The Report on the Review of the Response to Exceptional Severe Weather Events of 2009-2010 in August 2011. The Report, which is available on my Department’s website at . It describes the response to the exceptional severe weather events of 2009-2010 and made recommendations to improve preparedness for, and resilience to, future severe weather events. Implementation of the recommendations, some of which have been completed and some which are ongoing, is coordinated and monitored by the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning.

My Department’s National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management co-ordinates the response at national level to severe weather emergencies. At local level, the Principal Response Agencies (An Garda Síochána, the HSE and Local Authorities) operate under their own Major Emergency Plans and co-ordinate their response to flooding in accordance with the 2006 Framework for Emergency Management. The Framework requires local authorities to prepare severe weather plans and flood emergency plans, as sub-plans of their Major Emergency Plan. I understand that all local authorities have Severe Weather Plans in place and, where appropriate in accordance with local risk assessment, Flood Emergency Plans. Local authorities are provided with information from a number of systems including the Public Service Weather Warnings from Met Éireann and river and coastal flood warning systems where these are in place.

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