Ní chuirfidh mé an Taoiseach faoi bhrú inniu.

Is cuma faoi sin.

Feicim go bhfuil slaghdán air agus caithfidh sé an dochtúir a fheiceáil go gasta. On Friday, I visited Carrick-on-Shannon in County Leitrim and Cortober in County Roscommon to witness the devastating effects of the Shannon floods on homes and businesses. I met with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, local hoteliers, shopkeepers, publicans, householders and visited a number of local businesses. I commend all of those people, including the local council, who made a huge effort to put up sand bag defences and other preventative measures. One man whose business, the cineplex, has been closed as a result of the floods pays €23,500 yearly in rates and provides much needed local jobs. He cannot obtain flood insurance, neither can other business, many of which are also closed. I met with residents from St. Patrick's Park who are penned in by flood water.

The people I met are deeply upset by the lack of strategic planning by the Government on a problem which they say is entirely predictable and preventable. Some of the issues raised with me include the urgent need to fast-track the catchment flood risk assessment and management programme. The need for consultation with local people who have knowledge and expertise of flood patterns is a critical and often neglected part of this. They raised the abolition of the regional drainage boards which means the responsibility for cleaning Shannon tributaries is now left to underfunded local councils, which has resulted in an absence of sustainable draining systems. Despite various appeals, the Government has refused to allocate funds for land drainage schemes in the Shannon regions which should include the utilisation of callow and natural floodplains. No single agency is responsible for the management of the River Shannon. Will the Taoiseach give full responsibility to the OPW for management of the Shannon? Will he establish a State-funded insurance scheme for households and businesses that are affected by flooding and cannot get flood insurance, which they have not been able to get for some time?

With all the people Deputy Adams met in Carrick-on-Shannon, it looked to me as though he was canvassing but I understand that is not the case. In any event, it does not take from the stress and pressure on people in private houses or businesses when floodwaters come.

Last week the Government reactivated the €10 million humanitarian fund for private house owners. It is now available through the community welfare office system. The Government has also put together a €5 million compensation fund for small businesses with fewer than 20 employees. The requirements in terms of access to this funding are that the dates during which the premises were flooded and the rateable valuation of the property must be authenticated by a local authority engineer. An initial sum of €5,000 can be sought and paid before Christmas, with the opportunity, if the flooding is really bad, to claim a further €15,000 in compensation duly authenticated and validated by way of invoices and so on. That is the immediate response. I agree with Deputy Gerry Adams's remarks on the services and volunteers who have slaved day and night. I saw first hand, during a visit last Sunday to Foxford, Ballina and Crossmolina, the full impact of the flood waters.

The Deputy's proposal regarding a single authority for the River Shannon has been around for many years. It is not possible to do it, given that statutory authority for the River Shannon rests with a number of bodies, including the ESB, the OPW, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and many fisheries, tourism, commercial and local authority interests. While the proposal may sound wonderful, in public discussion the co-ordination required has thus far proved to be exceptionally difficult. I agree with the Deputy that the Shannon is a slow moving river and that it drains 40% of the country. The implications for people living below the Parteen weir in terms of the efforts being made to minimise flood damage speak for themselves. The Government has set out a ten-year strategy. There are 300 locations included in the catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, programme, in respect of which flood defences need to be provided, 66 of which are located along the River Shannon. While there is no single authority with responsibility for it, it will be possible to identify under the CFRAM programme which authority bears responsibility and what should be done, bearing in mind that in some instances there will be an overlap of responsibility between authorities.

The arterial drainage programme of the 1950s and late 1960s is finished. There is no longer a need for arterial drainage. The system was put in place for agricultural purposes, based on three to five year projections. Flood defences are supposed to last 100 years. I refer the Deputy to what happened in Carlisle where almost €40 million was spent on flood defences that did not work. It is important, therefore, that we get it right. I commend the practicality of the OPW, for instance, in Clonmel where it raised the barriers under the flood relief scheme, which has proved very successful. I sympathise with people on the damage done to their houses and businesses. The Government has, at least, responded quickly by providing some immediate relief. The longer-term plan, under which almost €500 million be spent in the next six years on the putting in place of, I hope, flood defences that will address any future issue, is being drawn up by the OPW.

The Taoiseach has said it is not possible to set up a single authority with responsibility for the management of the River Shannon. Surely, that is what we are here for. We are paid to enact legislation in that regard if it is the right way forward. It is possible if there is the political will. The problem is that successive Governments, rather than being proactive or strategic, have been reactive.

The Taoiseach has mentioned that a €10 million humanitarian fund and another emergency fund of €5 million have been provided. However, as a result of cuts to the OPW's flood risk management programme, flood relief has been reduced by €15.6 million, which means what the Government is giving by way of the funds mentioned amounts to only €6,000. As a result of climate change, extreme weather events will get worse. Events which may have occurred only every 30 or 40 years will now happen every five years. The Government needs to face up to this and plan for it in a strategic way. Many of us have seen first hand the serious problems with which people have to deal. God help those who year in, year out have had to bail out water from their homes, cannot get insurance and whose possessions have been destroyed as they face into Christmas.

In February 2014 I visited Limerick after a severe flooding event, following which I raised these same issues with the Taoiseach.

I must ask the Deputy to conclude as he is over time.

The Taoiseach failed to adhere to commitments he made at the time. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government is happy to blame the insurance industry for its refusal to provide flood cover.

As the Taoiseach did not answer the following question, I will put it to him again. Will he, first, reverse the cut to the OPW's flood risk management programme and, second and most important, will he bring forward proposals for a State-funded flood insurance scheme? The second proposal is crucial for folks.

As I said to the Deputy, many of the authorities that have responsibility or overlapping responsibilities along the River Shannon are statutory authorities. On his point that if there was the will, we could have a single authority, the process of putting in place such an authority would, in practice, be lengthy in terms of visits to the courts on the definition of responsibility and what statutory authority meant. Those whose homes and businesses are flooded cannot wait because the river continues to rise and the current defences are inadequate. The Deputy has seen the pictures of the thousands of acres of areas under water. While some flexibility is provided for in the farming sector in terms of the movement of animals, flooded slurry pits and so on, the main issue concerns how we are going to deal with the flooded areas in a pragmatic fashion. I noted when travelling home last weekend that many of the areas flooded were areas that had always been subject to flooding during the 40 years I had been travelling to and from Dublin. It happens in the winter time. The difference is that there are now buildings and houses in places where they should not be.

I agree.

It is not that the OPW has not been carrying out work; it has completed flood defences in 34 areas, including Clonmel and Mallow, both of which towns escaped the recent flooding. The OPW is working on seven schemes in areas such as Ennis, Fermoy and Bray and on the River Dodder. In 2016 work on a further five schemes, two of which will be in Claregalway and Bandon, will commence. The OPW is at various stages of planning of a further 22 projects, including one in Crossmolina which was flooded last week. By mid-2016 the OPW hopes to have a feasible solution in place for the 300 areas at risk of flooding. As I said, in this regard the Government is providing €1 billion in the next ten years, €460 million of which will be provided in the next five or six years, which is more money than has been ever spent in the past.

What about insurance?

If more is required in terms of business relief, the Government will consider the matter.

On insurance for houses, we will look at the issue. I want to make it clear that the Government has no intention of putting further levies on householders for insurance cover. The scheme in England excluded houses built after 2009 and small businesses. That is not a model that would work here. There is a memorandum of understanding between the insurance companies and the OPW. They share information of a commercial nature which is then factored into insurance assessments. A great deal of work is ongoing. I reiterate my thanks to all concerned for their support and hope the waters will not rise to a point where houses will be flooded further.