The level of flooding we are seeing in Cavan and Monaghan is really sad. The reason it is sad is because it is preventable in the main. Homes are being flooded, businesses are being damaged and, in some cases, roads have been badly affected and are impassable.

Basic routine maintenance is one of the easiest ways to help prevent flooding. Keeping drains and gullies clear should be a top priority. If we know bad weather is coming, these jobs should be stepped up, not scaled back. Running water causes damage to roads and the simplest way to limit that damage is to keep water off the roads in the first place. Does the council have the funding to keep up basic maintenance? By that, I mean the cleaning of gullies, drains and scheuchs and the filling of potholes. In 2021, Cavan County Council received €508,000 for ordinary maintenance. In 2025, that figure fell to €463,000, a cut of €45,000. I simply cannot see any logic in that decision. Anyone who uses the roads knows they are not being improved. If anything, the condition is worsening and the roads are under extreme pressure.

Then there is the Cavan flood relief scheme. This scheme was introduced in 2018 and eight years later, there have been no real deliverables on it. There have been workshops, plans and surveys, but nothing that will actually protect our roads, homes and businesses from flooding. Eight years on, we are still only at the development stage. This stage involves the review of all potential flood relief measures to identify a list of potential viable measures that could be implemented for flood protection. What is going on in the county? Eight years of funding just to get to the stage where they can begin to review the relief measures.

The Government has spun a web of bureaucracy and cannot seem to get out of it. The people in Cavan and Monaghan want to know why funding has been cut and if they will have to wait eight more years before flood relief measures are put in place.