Flood misery must become a thing of the past

IT"S ABOUT time Environment Minister John Gormley made his first comments as the flooding recedes during a week in which both Meath and country-wide suffered some of the heaviest rainfalls on record. Holidaying in Wales, Mr Gormley was rightly urged by the Opposition to immediately return to Ireland and address the flooding crisis that has befallen this country. But will his actions speak louder than his reassuring words? Many parts of Meath suffered flooded roads, while some fields, particularly near the Ashbourne area, resembled a series of small lakes. One farmer from Primatestown, outside Ashbourne, lost €100,000 as a result of the recent floods when his 20-acre cabbage and broccoli plot was flooded. And farmers country-wide are experiencing the worst weather conditions in decades, with many crops destroyed. Perhaps prompt action from Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith might also reassure the farmers during these financially disastrous times when they face the possibility of losing up to €400 million as weather conditions threaten harvesting of this year"s crops. However, with all this torrential rainfall, destruction of property, travel chaos, sporting fixtures cancelled, houses flooded, a train derailed and rivers bursting their banks, it is up to Environment Minister John Gormley to follow through with his comments last Monday and put into action, as soon as possible, what the Government is going to do about mopping up the current mess and avoiding future flooding. Ireland has a major flood problem and chances are it"s going to get worse if the Government don"t act fast. There was a time some years ago when motorists made a quick beeline home at the sight of falling snow flakes. Now it seems rain has become the new snow, with hundreds of cars abandoned and many motorists booking into B&Bs because homeward journeys are impossible. In a country famous for its heavy rainfalls, will it be a case that in the near future we will we be subjected to being marooned every time the heavens open up? Or will the sight of a heavy downpour make householders run for the sandbags for fear of serious property damage? As for transport, how are our major motorways becoming flooded? Surely being flood-proof is one of the main priorities during the construction of a modern motorway? To be fair to Minister Gormley, he can"t be blamed for the rain or freak weather conditions but he must reassure the public immediately on the new planning guidelines dealing with flood prevention, which he is set to publish in the coming weeks. He must also ensure to fork out more money on any initiatives regarding flood prevention. The OPW has lots of money for such initiatives, so there is no excuse of funding being unavailable. And he must look into weak planning laws and the way developers cream off massive profits while housing estates and adjacent roads become flooded. Mr Gormley would be wise to put issues of global warming on the back burner for the time being and adhere to the maxim 'environmental issues begin at home". Carbon footprints and preaching on the evils of climate change aside, he should be exercising his feet all the way to the now receding flooded doors of his is constituents, reassuring them that the recent situation will soon be a thing of the past. Meanwhile, Mr Gormley"s Northern Ireland environmental counterpart Sammy Wilson has announced a compensation package for those whose homes were affected by the flooding in the North, while Minister for Regional Development Conor Murphy has ordered an investigation into why a recently constructed underpass was flooded. Can we not have a similar speedy response down South from one of our public representatives? There needs to be a mapping system put in place to identify vulnerable areas. There also needs to be better organisational structures from the councils instead of a haphazard approach when dealing with such matters. The real problem now, as with all crises in our public sectors, is the lack of urgency in government departments when addressing such situations. And there is more rain forecast for the weekend.