158. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his views on Ireland’s resilience to extreme weather events caused by climate change; if consideration is being given to nature-based solutions to mitigate and provide resilience to the impacts of climate change; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14622/26]

Sentiment score: 0.15

I ask the Minister about nature-based solutions to mitigate and provide resilience to the impacts of climate change. We all know what has happened recently with warmer and wetter winters bringing more flooding, with a cost of billions and more than 100,000 properties in the State at risk of flooding. We know this will continue. Drainage systems will be exceeded, and we need to slow the water down and use the land as a sponge to ensure the surface can have more involvement in resilience to flooding.

Sentiment score: 0.15

What are the Minister of State's views on Ireland's resilience to extreme weather events? Is consideration being given to nature-based solutions to provide resilience to the impacts of climate change?

Sentiment score: 0.09

I hope that in his next answer, the Minister of State actually tells us what type of nature-based solutions will be foreseen or utilised by Government. I refer to the area in Kerry between Knocknagoshel and Brosna. The older people there tell me that up to 20 to 30 years ago, when heavy rain came, it would be soaked up by the bogs and released slowly. That does not happen anymore, partly due to afforestation and vertical drainage, so huge volumes of water are coming into the basins there and causing the flooding downstream that occurred in Listowel just before the election. The Wild Woodbury project in Dorset in England cleans water, stores carbon and brings new wildlife habitats because the land is soaking up the water and filtering it. It is not enough on its own. There will obviously be hard engineering solutions as well but this needs to be considered in the Government's plans.

Sentiment score: 0.17