This is not the Minister of State's first interaction with me in relation to flooding. I have thanked him for visiting Blackrock and for having conversations with some of the local elected representatives, including me, Councillor Sionainn McCann and a number of others from all parties. It was following what had made its way onto RTÉ, which was the coastal flooding in what is usually a very scenic area of Blackrock. Flooding had also occurred at the same time in Dundalk, where a number of businesses were flooded. In fairness, the positive from the interaction with the Minister of State was that the local authority accepts it needs to ensure it is looking at everything from the point of view of the short-term mitigations that can be made operational. While that might be difficult in Blackrock, the local authority said a number of such measures might be available throughout Dundalk. That needs to happen. The Minister of State has spoken strongly about the need for private property protection. I have already called on Louth County Council to ensure that work is done. Unfortunately, it did not take very long until the arrival of Storm Chandra. I do not even know what we can call the current situation, with the never-ending rain. As someone said, it is probably time to build an ark. We have had flood protection measures. Under the CFRAM scheme, major protection works have been in the offing for County Louth for a considerable time. While we want to see those works in Carlingford, Greenore, Drogheda, Baltray and Ardee, and we know additional work needs to be done in Annagassan - I get that this is not always simple - I will put a certain level of concentration on Dundalk and Blackrock south. We have also seen an element of flooding in areas like the Ardee Road and Mounthamilton, where residents are constantly in fear of flooding any time it rains. I would add my voice to commending those who work in the local authorities and the fire service. In some cases, they literally kept the water from the door - just and no more - and in some cases, they actually chased it out. I have said before and reiterate that we were one major rainfall, one really bad day, away from hundreds of houses being flooded. There is a specific issue in parts of Dundalk. While we need to see the works that are promised by Louth County Council for the River Blackwater, I recognise that what I previously called the “bunfight”, where Louth County Council and the OPW were not sure which had responsibility for the cleaning of the Blackwater, seems to have been sorted, as it should have been. We need to ensure that the Blackwater and the Ramparts area are cleaned. I am not saying that that would deal with every flood situation or every high tide, but at least it would provide some element of capacity in the rivers. If it saves a number of houses, it is absolutely necessary. Actions have been taken by the council to address issues with the Blackwater caused by what it termed over-pumping. It is about ensuring that the council has that pump capacity when necessary so that it can pump during high tides. I could talk about the failure by multiple Governments over many years to deal with infrastructure, although we are dealing with those infrastructural deficits at this point. The local authority has told me, as has the Minister of State, that money is available and that there will be no obstacles if the local authority needs certain things done with regard to those mitigations. We need that to happen. As I said, there is a specific issue in Dundalk, particularly in the part where I live. It applies to everywhere between Saint Alphonsus Road and the Red Barns Road. It is particularly apparent in Cluan Enda, Bay Estate, Blackwater Court - aptly named - Ashbrook and Greenfield Court. For multiple years, if there have been heavy rains, Cluan Enda has had a huge amount of pooling, or perhaps we should call it a river, a sea or a swimming pool. The same was true of certain parts of Bay Estate, particularly Hazelwood Avenue, parts of Cypress Gardens, Willow Dale, Oakvale and Holly Park. Cherryvale, where I live, had some element of pooling, but not to the same degree. As I said, we were only one really heavy rainfall away from having severe issues. The problem is that it is Uisce Éireann infrastructure. It is not good enough. At times, we hear the Minister for housing, Deputy James Browne, giving out about Met Éireann, but it is not good enough for him to say he has no operational control or responsibility in relation to Uisce Éireann. We have promises about CFRAM. We will probably know towards the end of 2026, or at least that is the date given, what exactly the flood protections will look like throughout much of County Louth. We are talking about Blackrock south and Dundalk going for planning in quarter 2 of 2027, around June. We need to make sure that those dates do not fall back. The other dates that we need to make sure do not fall back relate to Uisce Éireann. The fact is that we do not have the necessary capacity in the wastewater system. When we have heavy rains, that water goes directly into the sewage system, which is a joint system. When people are dealing with what looks like heavy rain in certain places, it would not be the healthiest water you could be dealing with. I have seen what has been left behind in houses after the water has dissipated. It is not hard to imagine what that was. Let us just say there would be huge implications from a health point of view. At some level, it is disgraceful that this is happening in Ireland in 2026. We are looking at an upgrade of the Coes Road pumping station. I am told the infrastructure works, which will also take in parts of Blackrock, will start at some point in 2027. Those works in the pumping station itself, however, will not be complete until 2029 and I have actually been told by the council that it is more likely to be 2030. That is frightening. Many of the other pumping stations in Dundalk, while under pressure, can deal with the flow through them, but during heavy rains the Coes Road station cannot. It is dealing with everything coming from those housing estates that I have spoken about, which have all been added to what is very old infrastructure. It is also dealing with industrial units from WuXi right down and it just cannot deal with that. The wastewater treatment plant just beyond that is not due to be updated until 2033. That has a design capacity for a population equivalent of 71,000 and is to be upgraded to a capacity of 120,000. That is down to a change in the rules by the EPA because when the local authority handed it over, it was something like 169,000. Again, we do not have the capacity. We could be looking at houses being flooded with sewage because we do not have adequate infrastructure. It is a matter of short-term mitigations, long-term flood protection and dates that can be brought forward rather than put back, which is what we have seen previously. We must also ensure that Uisce Éireann infrastructure is up to scratch. The onus is on the Government to follow through.

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I left that for you, Deputy Nash.

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