Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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My first duty is to congratulate Deputy Seán Canney, an east Galway man, on his promotion to Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works. There is no doubt that he will have one of the most difficult jobs in the coming year and he will share the portfolio with the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran who, no more than the Minister of State, knows quite a lot about the impact of the floods.

Flooding is still a major issue throughout the western region, particularly in counties Roscommon and Galway. Many homes, businesses and individuals are still bearing the brunt of the devastating consequences of widespread flooding.

The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, acknowledged on local radio recently that we have major difficulties. The floods have disappeared to some degree in certain areas, but many parts of County Roscommon in particular are still badly affected by flooding such as Castleplunkett in west Roscommon, Knockcroghery just outside Roscommon town and Dysart in south Roscommon.

I have spoken to individuals in Roscommon County Council who informed me that the estimate to repair the damage caused by the floods of 2015 and 2016 is €11 million. That is the amount required to repair the damage caused to roads, buildings and land. The allocation received from the Department to date is €4.9 million. The council faces a shortfall of more than €6 million. Roscommon County Council could apply for funding through the non-coastal mitigation measures available from the Office of Public Works of which the Minister of State is aware. However, the funding is based on a cost-benefit system, which means areas with a greater population density are favoured as they can be proven to be better value for money. For example, an application to address flooding issues in an estate of 16 or 20 houses would be favoured above an individual house in a rural area. Given that Roscommon is a sparsely populated county with significant distances between houses, it would be difficult to get the Office of Public Works to favour what we need in Roscommon. That is our biggest problem. If the situation is not rectified, it will have a detrimental effect on the constituency as many areas are sparsely populated and many homes and businesses which were devastated by recent floods are still suffering the consequences and trying to get back on their feet. Now we have the added issue of not being able to get insurance cover, which is another matter that must be faced by the Government.

A total of 133 different areas throughout County Roscommon were affected by the floods. Many home owners and business owners are becoming increasingly frustrated as they become the forgotten story in this land. There are stories behind the headlines whereby farmers face a bleak winter as they cannot cut silage or hay because some of their land is still flooded. The grass on the land would not be fit for use as fodder because, as the Minister of State is aware, all of the nutrients have been taken out of the ground by the flood water. For several months people have had to make long round trips to bring their children to school. Six months on, one house still requires to have water pumped out. The situation in another two or three houses has just been sorted out in recent weeks. I have invited the Minister of State to come to County Roscommon and I know he will do so. We will plan the visit and do it right. It is important that the Minister of State visits County Roscommon.

The allocated funding does not address flooding in and around turloughs, which is a major issue in the constituency, in particular in areas such as Lough Funshinagh outside Knockcroghery where 250 acres of land is still covered by water. The Minister of State will see that when he visits the county. The water level has only dropped by 16 in. A 92 year old man told me he has never seen such a problem in his lifetime. He cannot understand what has gone wrong. As the Minister of State is aware, agriculture is the backbone of the county. The economy of the county is important to us. In the context of the 250 acre area that is flooded, a number of farmers are affected as the land is divided into smallholdings. I urge the Minister of State to do all in his power to introduce a scheme straight away that would give sufficient money to Roscommon County Council to carry out at the very least fire brigade action as the county is in a desperate state.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Eugene Murphy for his kind words. I look forward to working with him as Fianna Fáil's spokesperson on flood relief. I congratulate him on taking on that position. Like Deputy Murphy, my constituency has been well and truly doused with water since 2009 and again in 2012 and 2015, and I share his concerns.

I am grateful to Deputy Murphy for raising this issue and for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the response of the Office of Public Works, OPW, to the challenges posed by the risk and actuality of flooding. I am very aware of the impact on communities of the severe flooding events of last winter and the continuing risk that flooding will recur. During those flood events, a co-ordinated response was provided in line with the Government's national emergency framework. The broad-ranging response targeted the immediate needs of people and communities through the delivery of sandbags and pumps to prevent flood waters entering properties, the deployment of Defence Forces personnel to assist local authorities, the provision through the humanitarian assistance scheme of funding for food, clothes, accommodation, the replacement of household equipment and structural repairs for the households worst affected by flooding, and the provision of special supports to businesses and farmers to ameliorate the consequences of the floods.

The OPW, as the lead State body for the co-ordination and implementation of Government policy on the management of flood risk, is committed to a planned and structured approach to the issue. The core strategy for addressing the significant flood risks nationally is the catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, programme of the Office of Public Works, which is being undertaken by engineering consultants on behalf of the OPW, working in partnership with local authorities. A total of 300 locations nationwide are being assessed which have been designated as potentially being at significant flood risk. The CFRAM programme involves the production of predictive flood mapping for each of the 300 locations, the development of preliminary flood risk management options and the production of flood risk management plans.

The draft flood mapping is now being finalised following completion of the national statutory public consultation on 23 December 2015. Work on the development of preliminary options to address flood risk is under way. Following finalisation of the mapping and the identification of flood risk management options, the final output from this important project will be integrated flood risk management plans containing specific measures to address in a comprehensive and sustainable way the significant flood risks identified. The draft plans are scheduled to be made available for public consultation in the coming weeks. Following the public consultation process, the finalised plans will include a prioritised list of measures, both structural and non-structural, to address flood risk in an environmentally sustainable and cost-effective manner.

The Government's Capital Investment Plan 2016 to 2021 includes a significant increase in the levels of investment in the area of flood relief, and this investment programme will allow for consideration of measures arising from the flood risk management plans. A total of €430 million has been made available in the investment plan.

Progress has continued this year on the existing capital works programme of the OPW through ongoing construction works on five major projects and the advancement of many others through design and procurement stages. Works have commenced on the Claregalway flood relief scheme in County Galway, and works will shortly be commenced on schemes in Skibbereen, where the contract was signed only last Tuesday, and in Bandon, County Cork, Foynes, County Limerick, and the Dunkellin river and Aggard stream in County Galway.

In addition, several schemes have been advanced through design and will be progressed into the confirmation stage under the Arterial Drainage Acts or planning under the planning regulations later this year. These include Blackpool, Clonakilty, Glashaboy and Douglas in County Cork and Templemore, County Tipperary. The OPW and Cork City Council have also agreed in principle to advance flood relief works in Cork city as part of a public realm project being undertaken by the city council on Morrison's Island.

Local flooding issues are a matter, in the first instance, for each local authority to investigate and address, and local authorities may carry out flood mitigation works using their own resources. The OPW also funds local authorities for small-scale flood relief studies and works up to a cost limit of €500,000 under the minor flood mitigation works scheme. Already in 2016, the OPW has approved 25 projects in various parts of the country.