Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-29
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

I am going to answer Deputy Tóibín's question. I am very proud of the record we have in delivering many flood relief schemes across the country. I can think of Clonmel, west Cork, Mayo, and I can think of many. I am equally frustrated, as is Deputy Tóibín, but nowhere near as frustrated as the people of the communities affected, that it is taking far too long to deliver far too many. That is why in our general election campaign we talked about a new approach to infrastructure. That is why when this Government came together we agreed to accelerate the delivery of infrastructure. It is why we are identifying specific areas of need as critical infrastructure. It is why we intend to legislate for that this year with the co-operation of the Opposition. Instead of all just coming in here and slinging insults at each other, let us actually pass legislation that might make a blind bit of difference to people. That is our job. We will bring forward critical infrastructure legislation.
On the flood forecasting, Met Éireann does a very good job. I thank Met Éireann for the job that it does but we need to have a conversation about what information we can usefully make available to help. When people hear that there is a yellow rain warning that has a very different context depending on the river levels and depending on the levels of saturation. After every storm, it is important to reflect on that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-29