Government urged to take action to allow flood defences to be completed

By Rebecca Black, PA

The Government has been urged to take action to allow flood defences to be completed.

It comes after the island has been battered by heavy rain and flooding in recent weeks following a number of named storms.

Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice welcomed financial support for those impacted by the flooding but called for a flood-relief scheme at Lough Funshinagh in Co Roscommon to be finished.

Work was halted amid a legal challenge by an environmental charity.

The challenge was won, with a judge finding that work had not been subjected to assessments under EU directives on habitats and environmental impact assessments.

During leaders’ questions in the Dail on Tuesday, Mr Fitzmaurice said: “We need heavy hitters to go to Europe.”

He said he wants the definition of an emergency to be reviewed and added: “The problem is the habitats directive, the way it’s been enforced here – or the way Europe is pushing on enforcing it upon us.

“While we welcome the funding given by all the different ministers, that’s basically a stopgap – it’s not going to stop the water coming next year or the year after.”

Minister for High Education Simon Harris said it has been an “extraordinarily difficult time in terms of flooding right across our country”.

He said a new national adaptation plan is needed, as is the acceleration of a number of flood-relief schemes.

“Government is fully committed in relation to that. We’ve seen three storms in a month, and if that doesn’t give us an indication (of) the type of winter we’re looking at, and indeed the climate change that we’re seeing in the world, I’m not sure what will,” he said.

On Lough Funshinagh, he said he will take Mr Fitzmaurice’s comments in  relation to European legislation and the risks to life and land to colleagues.

He said: “I take the point in relation to to urgency because we have seen in areas where we put flood relief schemes in really, really good results”.