Danny Healy-Rae Urges River Clearances After Local Flooding

Thank you very much. Minister, thanks for taking this debate here this evening. I suppose first of all you talk about flooding and there's a lot of talk back over the years that climate change is the cause of our rivers flooding and that is going to create more havoc. But I don't agree with that, Minister, because the reason why rivers are flooding is because they're not being cleared and farmers can't clear rivers, as you know, because of the cross compliance, they lose their farm payments and we had one example of that in Kerry, the Flesch River and I'm very grateful to the man that came down when I asked him to visit in Flesch and Castle Island, Kevin Boxer-Morne and Maitl asked him to go other places and he came down and he met with us and as a result we got money to clear part of the Flesch River. And what had been happening up until that, houses were being flooded. In 22, the National Primary Road was flooded several, several times in 15 and 16 and since it was cleared last year now and there's been several floods, the road wasn't flooded once. Or there was no house flooded since either. And Seaframs and Torvens and all these fellows, consultants said to clear the river would only make a small amount of millimeters of a difference. The facts are it have lowered the flooding by meters and the road is not in jeopardy and the emergency services can go back and forth now to Carp Hospital and Chile Hospital and the different, we'll say, emergency vehicles, they can all get by and our national primary route into Kerry is no longer flooded. And I have to thank Kevin Boxer-Morne for agreeing to that and giving us the funding for that and following several years of deputations by myself and Councillor Mara Healy-Ray and the residents of the entire Flesch area several times in Kerry County Council and that was the result of that. However, however, I'm clearly asking you Minister, the rest of the Flesch River needs to be cleaned, cleaned out and the river from Killarney to Killarney which is called the Lone River and that badly needs to be cleaned out because even the Lake Hotel was flooded and it cost millions at their own expense to repair it and replace it. I'm asking you, please not to allow that to happen again. The Lone River needs to be cleared out. There's places like Castle Island, the main river was cleaned, cleaned out 60 years ago and it was grand open until a few years ago and it needs to be cleaned again. But what are the Seafraim suggesting to spin millions and to build a flood plain in somewhere near the town to hold the water rather than clearing the river? The Brogian did Lone River and the Crag River and the Gwyston River. All those rivers need to be cleaned. And when we're talking about rivers, when we talk about pollution and there's a lot of talk about environment and maybe people think that I don't appreciate the environment. I certainly do. But I don't subscribe to this thing of climate change. But I do sincerely ask and there's no mention of it that I can see in the Programme for Government of our sewerage treatment plants need to be built where there are none. Places like Kilcommon, Coro, Skartetlin, no treatment plant. Places like Castle Island have been waiting for 40 years for an extinction to the treatment plant. And we're talking about pollution there. And we're talking about pollution there when you have wet weather and nowhere for they have to clean out the septic tanks there on a fortnightly or a monthly basis when you have wet weather in Castle Island. And 40 years that's going on for the Minister. C.C. Frams and Tobins, they have reports done in places like Glen Flesk and they said we couldn't, there are applicants being denied planning permission. And it's unfair because they're citing that said field could be flooded in a hundred years or maybe a thousand years. And I mean the people that want to build houses now for themselves will be long gone maybe before ever a flood will come again. But if the river is kept cleared, it won't flood them. And that's what I want to drive home to, Minister. I'm very disappointed in the program for government and will say the green path is program for government. Planning for people in rural Ireland is to be denied only in towns or villages where there's public transport. We don't have public transport like you have in cities. And the quadrupling of the carbon tax to 100 euros will over the next 10 years will have a massive adverse effect for people in rural areas who do not have the same options for transport or heating as those in urban areas. Offshore renewables, we're hearing a lot about that. But why don't you just start with the easy things like solar panels. Many farmers in Kerry have been granted planning permission for solar panels, but there is no scheme to pay them for their electricity at the present time. And they're waiting for three and four years for some planning guidelines to come that are being promised day after day and they haven't come and as well waiting for the scheme to pay them for the energy that they would supply. Minister, Minister, there's a lot to talk about carbon and the people out there are scared of their lives of what's going to happen to them over the next number of years if this government goes ahead. They're absolutely terrified. People need their cars and they need surety and they need something that's affordable and reliable. And until such time that electric cars prove themselves, then people will buy them and they'll give them a fair chance. But it's wrong to be forcing people down the road that he can't drive anything or the electric cars. That's the wrong way to go about it. You're talking about heating and stopping people of cutting turf. I have to say to you, we cut turf every year, Minister. It's not an easy job. You have to cut it, you have to turn it, you have to foot it, you have to stoop it, you have to bring it home, you have to bring it into the fire, you have to take out the ashes. But a lot of people are proud to do that and they have no other. They can't afford anything else. And while they're able to do it, they'll do it. I know one elderly man said to me the other day, I suppose I won't be able to do it for much longer. I'll have to get oil or get something else. But they're proud to do that and that's all they can afford. And it's wrong to stop people of doing the things. And maybe the next generation or the generation after won't look at a bog or go there. And maybe there'll be different ways at that time. But it is wrong to be forcing things on people. And it's wrong the way this program, the green program for government is being put out there. People are terrified of it. And you are a minister in this government and it's prophecy that you will be a minister in the next government as well. And I'm asking you minister, what, how publicans are arrested or whatever, suppose it came out this morning that you can only allow a person to stay in a pub for 90 minutes. How can publicans be reasonably asked to monitor that? I mean, a fellow comes in for a point and whatever and maybe he goes out smoking or something and does a few around. It's not possible for someone inside the bar to keep tabs on every fellow. And he'll come in, we've said the 29th of June, he's supposed to have a meal and ask for a meal. But he'll come in and he'll sit down, give me a point and you'll ask, you'll show him the menu and there's someone else coming, suppose to come with me. And he's waiting, he'll have the point drank, maybe he'll have a second point drank before the second person comes. How are publicans and restaurants, suppose to manage that? And I don't have enough time, minister, but people out there are very suspicious that there's no costing for the program for government and you're dealing with finance for the last four years. But you can't sell something to the people out there if we're not giving figures and facts and where the money is going to come from. Thank you very much, minister. Thank you very much.