Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I thank the Chairman for allowing me to bring forward the local issue to which I referred before the committee, which I will do as soon as he can arrange. On the issue of coastal erosion, what actions have been taken in respect of the issues that have been highlighted? For instance, the part along the Wexford coastline was one of the ones that have been mentioned in recent times. There has been mention of the flooding in Roscommon, for which I understand planning permission for a scheme is being requested. People have visited my clinic regarding the Roscommon flooding issue and various reasons have been put forward as to why it should be part of a flood plain and so on. That is fine, but the people who are living there have a right to live, and the people whose roads are flooded permanently have a right to travel on those roads. The inconvenience to them is, obviously, miserable for everybody, but if it occurred one of our major cities, for example, it would have to be resolved quickly. We cannot just turn our back and say that because something happens a bit down the country, we need not treat it with the same seriousness.

By the same token, as I have said previously, this also applies to my constituency. I emphasise the tremendous work done in the past by the OPW in respect of drainage in Leixlip, Celbridge, Naas, Monread and other places. That was vital drainage, and while there were some objections, they were overcome, as they have to be for the common good. It goes without saying that when issues arise in the future along those lines, greater cognisance needs to be taken to be able to move with alacrity and say it needs to be dealt with because it affects the livelihoods of people, whether they live in an urban or rural area. It has happened previously in urban areas and we had to take action to deal with them. They need to be dealt with quickly and we need to get in front of the storm, both literally and metaphorically, before it starts.

The work of the OPW is very important, on behalf of the State, to maintain public buildings, spend money on them and ensure it has the right of access to the buildings it has responsibility for and maintains. If it does not have rights of way or access, it has a problem and needs to state that clearly and upfront. If we cannot maintain our public buildings and spend money on them at the same time knowing we do not have guaranteed access, questions will ultimately have to be answered. One of the questions that has to be answered arises when people say they have other plans for that area. We need the plans now. We need to ensure we have the answers because we as public representatives have to relay those answers to the people we represent. If we do not, we are at fault.