Will the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran, provide an honest update on flood relief schemes across the State? As we know, the catchment-based flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, report, which carried out an evaluation of the entire State, identified 150 schemes. This was announced back in 2018 with huge fanfare. A total of 150 new schemes were going to be delivered. I note the Government keeps referring to schemes that have been delivered, including schemes that were delivered when I was a teenager. I do not want that information. I want to know how many of those 150 new schemes have been delivered to date.

Sentiment score: 0.12

We have a serious problem here. I note that the Minister of State mentioned the 13,500 properties that are protected but the Dáil was told the same number of properties were protected in 2023. The fact is that we have not protected a single additional property since. The numbers have not changed in the past couple of years. According to the Government's website, I think 143 or 144 schemes were identified eight years ago and still have not been completed. I know that nothing can be done overnight and the Government continues to reach to judicial reviews and all the rest but large numbers of those schemes have not even gone to design stage, let alone planning stage. There is a serious issue with the delivery of schemes within the State. The other part of the question related to the allocation for the national flood forecasting and warning service between 2020 and 2024. We are ten years on and this still has not been delivered. I heard the Minister, Deputy Chambers, talk about allocations and all the rest. We are ten years on and still do not have a system in place. There are serious problems within the Department.

Sentiment score: -0.05

I appreciate what the Minister of State is saying. I also appreciate that the Minister of State was not in office during the eight years I am talking about. However, his Cabinet colleagues were. We lost a lot of time when no schemes were delivered. That is the problem. In 2024, three schemes were supposed to be delivered but none were. I want to go back to the national flood forecasting and warning service. Less than €6 million of the nearly €20 million allocated has been delivered. As I said, this is a project that has been going on for ten years now. The Government agreed to establish the national flood forecasting and warning service. In the meantime, only one stage of the plan has been delivered, meaning we are currently stuck with an out-of-date and inaccurate warning system that does not even take ground conditions into account. Communities have been failed by the Government's lethargic approach to delivering a comprehensive and modern flood forecasting and warning service. I know the Minister of State was not in government during this period but his colleague, the Minister, was. He was on national radio talking about allocations and all the rest. The people who were flooded do not give a rat's about that. I will not say what I was going to say. They want the Government to deliver. They cannot understand. This was to be announced ten years ago. Money is not being provided. The delivery of this service is not there. It is not good enough.

Sentiment score: -0.09

It has been ten years and we do not have it.

Sentiment score: 0.00