Flood Risk Management
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-14
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Robbie Gallagher (FF), Labour Panel

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit, an Teachta O’Donnell, chuig an Teach seo inniu. The Minister of State is very welcome to the House this afternoon, and I thank him for taking time out to be here.
As the Minister of State is well aware, floods have brought havoc to many parts of our country. Unfortunately, these are no longer rare or isolated events and with climate change being what it is, they are going to increase with the passage of time. In an instance like that, when floods are potentially going to affect homes, they can be devastating for many families. It is natural that in such circumstances, when people fear that their homes are going to be flooded and when they call the emergency services, they should get a response, which is exactly what happens 99% of the time.
However, I was contacted about an event recently in the north west of the country where homeowners feared their houses were going to be flooded, and with good reason. They contacted the fire services only to be told that, unfortunately, the fire brigade had no responsibility when it came to a non-risk-of-life situation, which that would have been, to be fair. I fully understand the fire brigade is a first responder and must be available at all times, not just for fires but for many other incidents, including cardiac arrest and many other emergencies. However, when people fear their homes are going to be flooded, who are they meant to call?
It is important we give complete clarity on that because, as the Minister of State knows, it is a very stressful situation when you see water levels rising and you know it is only a matter of time before your house is flooded. You need to be able to pick up the phone and speak to somebody. There appears to be a level of confusion as to who that first phone call should be made to. I am talking about responses regarding fires, storms and heavy rainfall. It is only proper that each time we talk about that, we talk about the response our emergency services give in situations like that, be it a local authority, the fire services, the ESB crews who go out to try to restore services or phone crews who go out to try to repair lines. Everybody puts their shoulder to the wheel.
This particular instance in the north west of the country was a very frightening experience for the people concerned, and when they rang up and were told that, they felt totally isolated in that they had nobody to call. It is vital that our citizens and communities know who to call in the event of an emergency and they should expect to get a response when they do make that call.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-14