Delivery of flood relief schemes has been too slow, minister admits

By Jonathan McCambridge, Press Association

The delivery of flood relief schemes in Ireland has been “too slow”, Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has acknowledged.

Mr Chambers said there had to be a “rebalancing of rights” across the country following devastating flooding in a number of areas, including south Dublin and Wexford, which forced families to flee their homes and damaged businesses.

There are fears of further flooding as Met Éireann has issued a Status Yellow rain warning for counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Cork, Waterford, Dublin, Louth, Wicklow for Monday.

Mr Chambers told the RTÉ Week In Politics programme that the experience of many households and businesses had been “devastating” in the last week.

He said: “Our families have faced a terrible trauma from the impact of flooding.”

Mr Chambers pointed out the amount of money available to small businesses affected by Storm Chandra which cannot get flood insurance had increased from €20,000 to €100,000.

He said: “It’s in the context of feedback we’ve received from the scheme being opened previously, and Government wants to work in partnership with communities and with businesses that have been badly impacted.

Delivery, I acknowledge, for many flood relief schemes has been too slow, and that's why we need to place reform and speed at the heart of what we do

“I think that’s why we take a very open and engaging approach to policy, and it was correct that we did and are providing a more generous approach to businesses when it comes to the impact and the damage.

“I know from businesses in Enniscorthy (Co Wexford) and in Dublin and elsewhere how they’ve been under severe damage, and that’s why it’s only appropriate that we provide a greater and more substantive response.”

Mr Chambers was asked about the delay in building flood defences in Enniscorthy.

He said: “When you look back at the history of this, a planning process was followed and it was refused or stopped on the basis of a particular environmental concern.

“I think we have to rebalance rights across the country, and because there’s this risk aversion now that’s deferential to judicial reviews, whether it’s on flood schemes or whether it’s on broader infrastructure in the economy.

“We do need to put people first when it comes to livelihoods, when it comes to the packages we’ve seen.

“I think there was total frustration in Enniscorthy during the week when people heard that it was a concern relating to a pearl mussel that stopped this over a series of years.

“The systems that underpin flood relief schemes are too complex, they need to be reformed, and that’s why the work we’re doing on infrastructure is as important around reform as it is investment.”

Mr Chambers said more than €700 million had been prioritised by the Government over the past five years for the funding of flood defence schemes.

He added: “Delivery, I acknowledge, for many flood relief schemes has been too slow, and that’s why we need to place reform and speed at the heart of what we do over the next number of weeks.”

Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly said people want “action in advance” of adverse weather events.

She said: “What we saw in terms of the flooding, it’s not just predictable, it’s actually preventable.

“The Government knows this.

“You’ve got communities that are waiting decades for flood defences.

“They can tell you now exactly what houses are going to be affected, where it’s going to be impacted.

“They’ve been screaming at Government for years, and there hasn’t been any action.”