The Government will have to ensure that local authorities around the country get extra funding to deal with damaged roads as a result of the flooding and the Department of Agriculture and Minister Coveney should look at schemes like Glas to include flood relief work on farms,
I was speaking on the flooding crisis in the Dail on Wednesday evening last.
I am appealing to the Government to make sure that extra funding is given to county councils to cover the cost of road repair in the wake of the flooding. There are some roads badly damaged and in need of major repair while other roads will need to be raised to prevent flooding in the future. Councils did a great job during the recent flooding but they were woefully short of man power due to cutbacks. I am also calling on the NRA to review the size of the pipes they are putting in to relieve flood waters during the construction of new roads. As far as I can see some of these pipes are far too small for the job they are hoping to do.
With regard to farmers, the Minister should look at schemes like Glas and include the cleaning of water courses and drains on farms in the scheme. There are some farmers who have had fodder destroyed in the floods and we have to look at ways of compensating them. I am also calling for all farm inspections to be deferred for a three week period to allow farmers to get back on their feet after the flooding.