I echo what others have said here. In Ennis and Clarecastle in County Clare, even though the sewage treatment system is modern and new, it is already close to capacity. If we want to reach these housing targets, the first thing that needs to be done is to upgrade all of that network underground. The public will not see it and we might not get great praise or thanks for it, but it is crucial and is the key enabler. I call on Uisce Éireann to look at the situation in Ennis and Clarecastle. It is unforgivable that a few years after that system was designed and built, it is already near capacity.
Sentiment score: -0.03
14. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will provide an overview of OPW drainage, flood protection and coastal erosion defence works that are planned to be undertaken in County Clare in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39855/25]
Sentiment score: 0.04
I thank the Minister of State for taking this question. I would like to know what plans the OPW has for drainage, flood protection and coastal erosion defences in County Clare this year.
Sentiment score: 0.34
I thank the Minister of State. There is a lot of positive stuff happening in the county. I will bring the Minister of State back a bit to the Arterial Drainage Act 1945. Neither of us was around at that time but some guru decided that different watercourses would be divvied up between the Board of Works, now the OPW, and local authorities. The River Inagh in north Clare comes under the jurisdiction of Clare County Council. Its budget for managing that watercourse and river is minuscule. It does not have the diggers or the heavy machinery, such as the long-reach diggers the Minister of State and I are very familiar with, that can clear out all the silt. It has none of that. The OPW gets approximately 90% of the budget with 10% going to local authorities, yet the latter are expected to manage rivers like the River Inagh with few resources. I ask the Minister of State to consider recategorising that river. Surely in this day and age, with climate change and everything that has caused, the 1945 legislation needs to be revised.
Sentiment score: 0.19
Before the Minister of State was appointed, his name was synonymous with communities fighting back against flooding. He has done stellar work in and out of politics on that. For many people in these areas, insurance is still impossible to get. The term "risk equalisation" is used when applying for health insurance. It means that all people of all ages pay a little bit of a premium so that risk is balanced across older and younger people. The same principle is now being applied by the insurance industry to homes. Between 12,000 and 13,000 homes in the south Clare area cannot get flood insurance cover. Not a week goes by in my office that we do not have to write letters of comfort, which is ludicrous. What does a letter of comfort from a TD really mean? We need to have this fully nailed down by the OPW and the Government so that if there are flood defences or an area has not flooded, the principle of risk equalisation is applied and families are given insurance cover. A lot of property sales are falling through because once the conveyancing is done, banks will not lend capital if they see that the applicant cannot get flood insurance cover. The Government needs to take that practice to task.
Sentiment score: -0.10
I echo the points made by Deputy McGrath. The EU procurement rules are rather outdated. A lot of the regulation that is stifling what this country is able to do is not domestic but comes from an EU treaty. The time has come for us to be able to procure beyond the EU 27 bloc for very large projects, such as hospitals, large road projects and rail. It has repeatedly happened that projects we pitch a certain amount of money for have cost twice as much by the time they have gone through all the gateways. We need to procure beyond the European Union. I hope the Minister will be able to raise that at the Council of Ministers in due course.
Sentiment score: 0.10