We will, of course, engage with the Deputy in advance of any visit to the site.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue relating to the Crossmolina flood relief scheme as I know it is an issue that he has raised previously. I wish to advise that the OPW has submitted the scheme, along with the required environmental assessments, to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform for confirmation. The scheme to be constructed includes a new grass-lined diversion channel; a new reinforced concrete intake structure and spillway on the banks of the River Deel at the upstream end of the channel; a…

I thank the Deputy. To be fair, I have not added any new complications that were not previously advised. It would not be a fair reflection on the response that has been given either. I share his frustration. We are equally frustrated by the lengthy time that these things take but they have always taken time to address. It is terrible whether it is in Cloonlara, Springfield in County Clare, Bantry, Cork city or any of the towns in Wexford. As I said earlier in response to a previous question, we had a debate in the …

It goes without saying that the OPW knows the people of Crossmolina very well. They have dealt with them over a lengthy period in terms of the development of this scheme and would know at official level, through the local design team that has been in place, what has been endured by the people of Crossmolina and every other town that has flooded. I am being honest in the House tonight. Whatever has been said in the House previously regarding indicative dates, I will not do that because those dates will not, in many …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 100, 102 and 115 together. I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue for the people of Clifden and those living along the Owenglin River. I can confirm that a potential flood relief scheme was recommended for Clifden as part of the national flood risk management plan published in 2018, from which 119 new projects nationwide are to be progressed under the national development plan. Following the launch of the plan, the Office of Public Works, OPW, confirmed to Galway County…

I was in Clifden and it was horrific to see the damage. The television pictures often reflect what flooding means to a community, but this was just unbelievable. There were front yards ripped asunder, boulders half as big as where I am sitting were just hurtled onto people's front lawns and houses were devastated. There are houses on the Galway road - the Deputy would be more familiar with them than me - from which people were taken in boats. I had seen the impact of severe flooding in my town of Newcastle West, bu…

I do not wish to bore the Ceann Comhairle. I have already spoken on this matter several times tonight. When one looks at the Question Paper, one can see how relevant an issue this is for the House, given the number of Deputies from all over the country who have raised it. The problem is getting worse. Previously, it was confined to places such as Clonmel, towns on the Suir and low-lying parts of the east of the country. Now it is everywhere. It is happening out of the blue as a result of monsoon-type rain. There ar…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following: “calls for: - further progression of the whole of Government approach that is delivering returns to managing the flood risk and coastal change for rural Ireland; - an examination of the current regulatory requirements to be carried out; and - the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with responsibility for the Office of Public Works to undertake a consultation through the Oireachtas committ…

We were told that with the current regulations, we were not to circulate them.

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann: — acknowledges the legislative landscape and regulatory environment that the Shannon Flood Risk State Agency Working Group operates is very complex; — notes that it is in the public interest to manage the flood risk in the Shannon catchment; and — resolves that the River Shannon Management Agency Bill 2020 be deemed to be read a second time this day nine months, to allow for an examination on the legislative landsc…

I welcome the opportunity to speak. The Office of Public Works was provided with a gross Estimate for 2021 of €511 million, an increase on the 2020 allocation. Just over €127 million of the moneys allocated are to flood risk management and €384 million is for estate management, including heritage, two important areas where the Office of Public Works will continue to deliver for both the public and the Government. The OPW appreciates that budget 2021 is taking place within one of the most challenging and uncertain e…

I thank the Minister of State for raising this important matter, which I feel strongly about. I studied at University College Cork, so I know the city very well and the geography of most of the areas affected. Major flood events have affected the country in the past few months but particularly in counties Cork, Kerry, Galway and Limerick. As the House will know, I visited many parts of the country in the aftermath of these awful events in August and saw at first hand the impact on residents and businesses in the co…

The OPW also wants to save Cork city. No one has a monopoly on concern for saving Cork city. I have a deep concern and reiterate that now publicly. If there is a high tide with south westerlies, with severe rain, sodden ground and Cork city inside a bowl, we will be back to a 2009 scenario. We know that the process for delivering major flood relief schemes is moving more slowly than the rate at which our climate is changing. We cannot continue in this vein of delivering schemes at the snail's pace of 2006. The peop…

I apologise on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, who, unfortunately, cannot be here today. Covid-19 has had a significant impact on many households and businesses, and the banks and other regulated lenders moved quickly to provide support to their impacted mortgage and other borrowers by putting in place payment breaks across the industry. The latest figures from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, BPFI, indicates that around 89,000 payment breaks were grant…

The first thing that the Government wanted to do for everyone who had any interaction with a financial institution was to protect his or her income, albeit not in the same way as happened in Northern Ireland, which Deputy Ó Murchú might be more familiar with than most of the Deputies present. Our Government has protected in excess of 1.3 million people through the PUP and what is now the emergency wage subsidy scheme. Deputy Boyd Barrett might claim that Government policy is to sit back and do nothing, but the Gove…

The people of Dún Laoghaire would not realistically want Kim Jong-Boyd Barrett's policies to be advocated.

The Government is committed to working with borrowers, lenders and everyone else because the country is in a financially precarious position, as are other European countries-----

-----but making flippant, throwaway comments in the hope of getting a few lines in the newspaper-----

-----does nothing for those who want to keep their jobs.

I have been a Minister of State for nearly five years and I have never refused to come into the House to be held accountable on any issue. Topical Issue matters are selected by the Ceann Comhairle, not by me. Any Member who wishes to come to me with a particular concern is welcome to do so. Just before Deputy O'Donoghue spoke, another Deputy came over to me to ask me something. I am surprised that Deputy O'Donoghue would set about making his contribution in the way he did. I thank him for raising this important mat…