Ireland's Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has acknowledged that the delivery of flood relief schemes has been "too slow" following devastating flooding in south Dublin and Wexford that forced families from homes and damaged businesses. His admission comes as Met Éireann issued a fresh Status Yellow rain warning for eight counties for Monday.
The Government increased financial aid available to small businesses affected by flooding from €20,000 to €100,000, particularly targeting those unable to secure flood insurance. Over €700 million has been prioritized for flood defence schemes over the past five years, yet some communities have waited decades for protection.
Call for Reform
Chambers stressed the need to place "reform and speed" at the heart of future action on RTE's Week In Politics programme. He called for a "rebalancing of rights" across the country, prioritizing people's livelihoods over risk aversion in judicial reviews concerning flood schemes.
The Minister said: «Our families have faced a terrible trauma from the impact of flooding.» He pointed to the frustration in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, where flood defence planning was refused or stopped due to environmental concerns relating to a pearl mussel. «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,» Chambers said.
He added: «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.»
Opposition Criticism
Sinn Féin TD Louise O'Reilly criticized the Government's response. «What we saw in terms of the flooding, it's not just predictable, it's actually preventable,» she said. «You've got communities that are waiting decades for flood defences. They've been screaming at Government for years, and there hasn't been any action.»
The Status Yellow rain warning applies to counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Cork, Waterford, Dublin, Louth and Wicklow for Monday.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
