Simon Harris blames ‘disgraceful’ planning for flooding
Mr Harris also said that local authorises cannot use the environment or spawning fish as an “excuse” to avoid maintaining rivers to avoid flooding stating “people are more important than fish”.
It came as more communities found themselves being battered by winds of up to 135km/h followed by heavy rain as Storm Eva made its way across the country. Status-orange level gales caused damage in a number of areas though the conditions were expected to die down by 1am. The ESB reported a number of outages including in Co Cork where Cobh, Fermoy and Mallow were among the areas affected.
Mr Harris’s comments were made as the latest figures reveal that more than 40% of businesses who have applied for emergency government aid have asked for more than the initial €5,000.
The minister with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), who has been visiting flooded areas in recent days, said “we have a legacy of bad planning in this country” which is “absolutely disgraceful”.
He said that up until the 2009 planning guidelines, local authorities were able to make “seriously bad planning decisions”.
“A lot of the homes and businesses that flooded or were at risk of flooding this time were built in questionable areas and one wonders should planning ever been granted,” he told Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show yesterday.
He added that river maintenance is the responsibility of local authorities and should be carried out.
“I sometimes think that salmon spawning can be used as an excuse to not take action. There are times of year and opportunities when people can take action. I think there is confusion as to where responsibility lies.
“People are more important than fish and let a local authority come to me and explain why they can’t maintain that river, it’s their responsibility, so let’s find a solution because I don’t think it stands up,” he said.
In the wake of Storm Desmond €5m was put in place for small businesses in flood prone areas that were unable to get insurance.
Mr Harris said his department is still “grappling” with the issue of flood insurance and the Department of Finance has been tasked to examine all options available to ensure homes and businesses can get cover against flooding.
“I do still think we have to grapple with the issue of flood insurance, and to be quite frank I don’t have the answer and I don’t think anyone has the answer,” he said.
The most recent figures available showed some 103 businesses have so far applied for state relief after being flooded during Storm Desmond. The Red Cross who are administering the fund have so far sent bank payments to 43 applicants.
The largest numbers of businesses applying have been in Cork with 11 applications and Galway with 19.
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