I refer to motion No. 152 on the Order Paper. I seek the Taoiseach's direct intervention in the humanitarian crisis facing eight families in Ballagh and Lisfelim in the area of south Roscommon. Along with six of my colleagues from across the country, I have tabled a motion seeking the establishment of a cross-departmental and cross-agency task force to address emergency climate adaptation measures to protect homes nationwide.

I ask the Taoiseach, as the Head of Government, to establish a national task force to take on this role. It should set as the first item on its agenda the authorisation of the flood alleviation works at Lough Funshinagh in County Roscommon and use that as a case study.

I will examine the proposal and will consult with Ministers on it. We have to move in a more proactive way. I am not saying we are not doing that already; there are moves being made on adaptation in general. We have to avoid the worst consequences of climate change through the actions we take but increasingly, we have to look at the adaptation side of the issue as well and take more proactive measures to prevent damage to communities, towns, villages, coastal areas and so on. We can see what is happening with the frequency of storms over the last number of years across Europe. I recently saw a survey showing €150 billion of damage in Europe alone this last season due to climate change weather events.