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Added funding demand to combat flooding

Thursday, 28 August 2008

There have been calls for increased funding to be made available to local authorities to finance flood alleviation works following the deluges that caused havoc across South Dublin recently.
The heavy rainfall over the past couple of weeks led to numerous incidents of flooding around Lucan, including Main Street, Beech Park and Ballyowen Lane.
Several parts of Knocklyon and Firhouse were also badly affected when local drainage systems failed to cope with the floods on Saturday, August 7, that saw more than three inches of rainfall in 24 hours in some areas.
Lucan based Fine Gael activist, William Lavelle, has called for increased funding to be made available to local authorities to finance flood alleviation works, including more regular maintenance of storm water gullies.
Blocked
“A number of long-standing residents have contacted me to outline their concern that gullies, which traditionally drained storm water, have become blocked or cannot handle the storm water flows from areas of recent housing development,” Mr Lavelle said.
“Mistakes were made in the past as housing was built without adequate planning for flood prevention. But these problems require more than criticism. What we need are positive solutions and constructive action.”
Mr Lavelle noted that the Government had signalled its intention to introduce new planning guidelines for future construction but said this was of little comfort to those who were already living in areas in danger of being flooded.
In addition, he said recent figures show that the Government is spending very little on flood defence at a time when the risk is greater than ever.
"The National Development Plan promises e895 million for the Community Infrastructure Programme, which includes flood defences, but only e23 million was spent in the first year of the plan in 2007 on flood defence,” he said.
“The Government needs to expedite the implementation of the EU Floods directive that requires Government to develop flood risk management plans and flood hazard and risk maps. The OPW already publishes information on past flooding but the Government needs to be more forward thinking as more extreme weather events occur.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Joanna Tuffy (Lab) has said that Environment Minister John Gormley’s plans to bring in new planning guidelines to specifically deal with flood prevention would not stop councils from making decisions that allow houses to be built on flood plains.
“City and county councils when rezoning lands and making county development plans only have to have regard to the planning guidelines,” she said.
Rezone
“Even if the minister amended the Planning and Development Act 2000 to require county development plans to be in compliance with his planning guidelines, the decisions on whether or not to rezone land for housing would still rest with the councils.”
In a statement, the Department of the Environment said it is working closely with the Office of Public Works in finalising guidelines for planning authorities in flood risk management in future development.
“The draft planning system and flood risk management guidelines, which are expected to go to public consultation shortly, will require the planning system at national, regional and local levels to avoid inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding such as floodplains,” according to the statement.
“They will also require the planners to adopt a sequential approach to flood risk management based on avoidance, reduction and then mitigation of flood risk as the overall framework for assessing the location of new development in the development planning processes.”
A spokesman for the Office of Public Works said they had completed a number of flood relief schemes across the country that have proven very successful.
“Sufficient funding has been provided by Government,” he said. “Some e382 million has been provided for flood prevention under National Development Plan 2007-2013 and the OPW is determined to spend this allocation on flood relief measures.”
He added: “Designing schemes is a complex process involving engineering design, addressing environmental issues and requiring a wide level of public consultation.”

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