Response delays deemed ‘inadequate’

THE response by local authorities in the Dublin region to the torrential rain and flooding earlier this week has been branded “inadequate” by junior environment minister, Brian Hayes.

The Fine Gael TD yesterday criticised some delays by council staff in reacting to Monday night’s floods and said their assistance and reaction could have been more effective.

The Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan, has ordered an inquiry into the local authority response to problems caused by several hours of heavy rainfall in the capital.

Mr Hayes, who is Minister for the Office of Public Works, acknowledged that the level of rainfall in Dublin was unprecedented.

He also expressed sympathy for householders unable to obtain home insurance because of their property’s location.

He said the Government was speaking to the insurance industry to establish a protocol on responding to householders whose properties are prone to flooding.

Mr Hayes said the Government would look sympathetically on assistance applications from property owners who were unable to obtain insurance cover for their homes.

On RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, the minister said it was indefensible that some residents were unable to get home insurance in locations where the state had funded flood relief projects.

The clean-up operation resulting from Monday’s flash floods continued yesterday, although water had receded to normal levels with only a few minor problems still reported. One lane on Wolfe Tone Quay in Dublin is expected to remain closed for the next few days following cracking in the quay wall, which has caused significant traffic problems on some roads.

At the same time, the Construction Industry Federation claimed people’s lives and property were being placed at unacceptable risk by the failure to address drainage bottlenecks.

A CIF spokesman said there was an urgent need to carry out an assessment of locations to establish danger points for flooding.

“This work could be undertaken by many of the engineers and other designers who have become unemployed as a result of the economic downturn,” he said.

Aviva, which recently announced huge job losses at its Irish operations, said that it had established a €10m fund, which was immediately available for its customers.

The company said it had already received over 1,000 flood-related claims with 70% relating to damage to property and 30% to damage to cars.