JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE ENVIRONMENT, HERITAGE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 9 Mar 2010

Management of Severe Weather Events: Discussion with County Managers.

Chairman

We will resume on No. 3 on the agenda, the Report of Management of Severe Weather Events in Ireland. We are joined for this part of the meeting by county managers from Galway, Limerick, Longford, Roscommon and Westmeath and other representatives from the local authorities. Specifically, we are joined by the following: Ms Martina Moloney, county manager, and Mr. Frank Gilmore, director of services, Galway County Council; Ms Majella Hunt, deputy county manager, and Mr. Eugene Dwyer, senior engineer, Roscommon County Council; Mr. Tim Caffrey, county manager, Longford County Council; Mr. Edmond Gleeson, county manager, Mr. Paul Crowe, director of services, and Mr. Gerard Behan, Limerick County Council; and Mr. Danny McLoughlin, county manager, Westmeath County Council.

Before the representatives commence their presentation, I draw their attention to the fact that Members of the Oireachtas and of this committee have absolute legal privilege but the same legal privilege does not apply to witnesses appearing before the committee. Members of the committee are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that members should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses of the Oireachtas or an official by name in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

Before I invite the representatives to make their presentations, I apologise for the long delay they have had. We found it useful to meet representatives of the many agencies involved, especially in the Shannon area, which have different statutory functions, no more than the representatives of the authorities before us have different statutorily functions. That part of the meeting took longer than expected. We thought we would have met the representatives before now. Therefore, I apologise for the late start. I invite Ms Martina Moloney to make the first opening statement.

Ms Martina Moloney

I thank the Chairman and the members for this opportunity to address the committee. The three elements I propose to cover in my presentation, which has been circulated to the members, are the way the flooding emergency of last November was dealt with, the report on road gritting in County Galway for the winter 2009-2010 and the issue of water supplies arising from the prolonged cold spell from December to January 2010. We have circulated a report to the committee.

I will deal with the flooding emergency first and give members some background information. County Galway was one of the areas that suffered most as a result of the unprecedented rainfall throughout November. The water level recorded in the Clare river was never before seen and it exceeded the normal level by 600 mm. The River Shannon at Athlone also exceeded previous records by 400 mm and the River Suck peaked at 300 mm above previous levels. Areas of flooding in south Galway also significantly exceeded levels previously experienced. In total the flooding of Galway had an impact over an area that stretched for more than 1,300 square miles. It impacted on many individuals, homes, farms and businesses together with public infrastructure, including public roads and water supplies.

I have attached to the presentation a map of County Galway on which members will notice the approximate area that was flooded, particularly to the east of the Corrib. It includes a very large area of the county, stretching from Roscommon to the Corrib, and from the north down to Gort and further south.

In response to the emergency, the crisis management team convened at 11 a.m. on Thursday, 19 November 2009. In accordance with the major emergency plan, the local authority is the lead agency to deal with flood emergencies. Initially, the flooding was evident in Craughwell, Ballinasloe and Claregalway. In an effort to address the worsening situation, the county council and Ballinasloe Town Council worked with the Garda Síochána, Civil Defence, the Army, the NRA, the PPP company on the M6 motorway, the Air Corps, local volunteers, the HSE, the OPW, Met Éireann and the ESB to try to ensure the emergency was addressed in the most efficient way possible. The team used the framework of the major emergency plan to manage the event.

The issues that emerged included public health risks associated with the difficulties with water supply in Ballinasloe where the water supply plant became inundated. It was necessary, therefore, to put a boil notice in place, distribute water to vulnerable households and relocate the electrical panel within the water plant to ensure we could keep water flowing. In addition, a number of pumping stations were flooded and sewage effluent had to be transported by tanker away from those pumping stations. A number of plants in east Galway and the Portumna area had to be protected by sandbags.

A number of evacuations proved necessary as more than 200 houses were flooded in County Galway. The evacuations were facilitated by our own staff as well as Civil Defence and Air Corps personnel. Many families made their own arrangements regarding evacuation. Some food provisions were dispensed to families who were marooned, and support to impacted families was facilitated by the HSE and voluntary agencies. Many other households at risk of flooding were issued with sand or sandbags. The bags were filled with the help of the Army, Civil Defence, council staff and local volunteers all of whom did an excellent job throughout the county.

One of the major impacts in County Galway was on the road network. Almost all the national primary and national secondary routes were impacted. The N6 Galway to Dublin road was blocked on Thursday, 19 November 2009. The N17 to Tuam was subsequently blocked at Claregalway, while the N18 to Ennis was blocked at two locations. National secondary roads were also severely impacted. At Portumna, the N66 and N84 were impacted to some extent. Likewise, severe disruption was caused on the county road network as the flooding worsened.

In an effort to address the difficulties, we tackled the opening of portions of the M6 motorway which was nearing completion at the time. This was facilitated with the assistance of the NRA and the PPP company. But for this, County Galway would have been entirely cut off from the east. Diversion routes were also put in place by council staff with the assistance of the Garda Síochána. More than 20 roads were raised to facilitate their continued use by people throughout the county.

More than 300 staff from the county council and Ballinalsoe Town Council were deployed to deal with the emergency with assistance from the Army, gardaí and Civil Defence. Works undertaken by them included erecting signage and manning diversions, monitoring road maintenance, raising road levels, providing sandbags, communications, an emergency help line, evacuation and emergency accommodation, updating our website and mapping impacted areas. In addition, we had to distribute drinking water and maintain a vigil on public water supplies which were at risk of inundation. We also dealt with issues arising from the flooding of waste water plants. When the floods abated, we also had to assist a number of households with the disposal of domestic waste arising from flooding, such as bulky items that had been damaged during the flood.

Following the immediate emergency and because of the variety of areas that were impacted throughout the county, the council decided to form a joint committee with the Office of Public Works at local level. This was done to co-ordinate the gathering of data and provision of information on flood locations and water levels, as well as identifying possible flood mitigation measures, preparing a work programme and identifying resource requirements. That work is ongoing.

I thank the many agencies that supported Galway County Council in managing this extreme weather event. They included the staff of Galway County Council, the media and many volunteers, including the IFA, Civil Defence, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Red Cross and many individuals and groups throughout the county whose efforts helped to deal with the consequences of the severe weather emergency.

I will now deal with the issue of road gritting in County Galway. The county's road network includes 55 km of motorway, 93 km of national primary routes, 296 km of national secondary routes, 841 km of regional roads, and 5,452 km of local roads. The county council operates an annual road salting-gritting programme which consists of a centrally co-ordinated programme for the national primary, secondary and main strategic routes. Each salting and gritting event is triggered by the icecast system which utilises thermal mapping, weather stations at several locations on the road network and predictions by the meteorological office to initiate salting and gritting.

The M6 motorway is part of a PPP scheme. The operators of that scheme are responsible for maintenance, including salting. A gritting and salting programme is run individually by each of the 11 engineering areas of Galway County Council. These areas use salt and grit based on weather forecasts, local knowledge or on request by various bodies, for example, requests for access by the HSE or the Garda Síochána.

These programmes between them salted and-or gritted approximately 25% of the road network. On the national primary, secondary and strategic routes, Galway County Council operates nine salting-gritting teams with truck-mounted gritters of seven and nine tonne capacity. For the locally organised salting-gritting, the council uses in excess of 20 teams for salting-gritting regional roads other than those included in the strategic routes, and local roads as required. The engineering areas use smaller gritters and lime-spreaders on hire for the locally organised programme.

In the winter of 2009-10, the number of gritting events have amounted to approximately 67 so far, which is up to the end of the first week in March. A normal winter would average 30 gritting events, so members of the committee can see that we have had a significant increase in activity this year.

Galway County Council had approximately 600 tonnes of salt in stock in depots throughout the county at the beginning of the cold spell on 10 December 2009. Some 600 tonnes is our normal stockpile. In addition, more than 500 tonnes were on order at that time. However, during the prolonged cold spell these deliveries became sporadic. To conserve salt supplies for use on national routes, the council used 6 mm of grit to cover non-national and some regional roads. It also mixed grit and salt to give greater coverage. Grit supplies were available in County Galway throughout the cold spell and typically more than 2,000 tonnes were stockpiled at any one time. The total use of salt in the Christmas cold spell came to 3,000 tonnes, while the anticipated overall usage this winter is expected to exceed 6,000 tonnes. At all times the county's main roads were kept open. To date, our expenditure on the 67 events amounts to €163,000 on national primary roads, €431,000 on national secondary roads, €345,000 on the regional road network, and €291,000 on local roads.

The severe and prolonged frost has damaged the structure of many roads in the county. Damaged roads will deteriorate at an accelerated rate unless major strengthening works are carried out in a sustained programme. The initial cost of repairing the immediate damage to the local and regional road network is estimated at €6 million while the national road damage is estimated at more than €5 million. It is important to note that the life of pavements has been shortened by the extreme weather and new sections of damage are becoming noticeable on an ongoing basis. In addition, some of the roads in south Galway which were flooded for an extended period require further attention. The situation is evolving and a thorough analysis of damaged pavements throughout the county is under way.

Water shortages arose from the prolonged cold spell from 26 December 2009 to 25 January 2010. Galway County Council experienced a sharp rise in demand for water throughout the county. This coincided with the onset of the prolonged cold spell. To prevent pipes from freezing, some people left taps dripping, resulting in a significant and sustained increased water usage or wastage. In addition, many pipes froze, especially in vacant properties, houses, schools and businesses during the holiday period. As they began to thaw there was significant water loss through burst pipes. Over ground pipes in farms and fields froze and fittings gave way leading to significant wastage.

Reservoir levels dropped throughout the county and due to increased daytime and night-time demand, it proved difficult to recover reservoir levels. It was necessary to actively manage the available water through pressure reduction and night-time rationing to ensure water was available to as many consumers as possible for at least some hours every day. Despite this, some areas of the county suffered complete water supply interruption for up to five days. Further complications developed as private service pipes froze in the ground so that even where the public supply was available householders still had no supply. Areas impacted in the county included Ballinasloe, mid Galway, Portumna, Gort, Killimor, Loughrea, Williamstown, Moycullen, Bearna, Spiddal, Carraroe, Ros a Mhil, Rosmuc and Roundstone.

The council found itself stretched to the limit trying to manage the available water to maximum benefit, deploying emergency tankers to areas where supply was lost to provide emergency supply to vulnerable populations and on a very limited basis to recharge storage tanks to provide basic sanitary facilities.

During the cold spell water demand increased by between 25% and 50% throughout the county. This increase can be attributed to consumer behaviour, private supply leaks and public supply leaks. Between the period of 26 December to 28 February, the council has been engaged in a targeted programme of leak detection and repair to reduce water losses, both on the public and private side of the stopcock. This is beginning to show a return although consumption levels have yet to return to pre-December 2009 levels.

Indicative costs associated with the cold weather in County Galway include: €220,000 for increased operation and maintenance requirements; €20,000 for tankers and emergency supplies; and €252,000 for the programme of leak detection and repair that we put in place.

Chairman

Thank you, Ms Moloney. Ms Majella Hunt has a presentation.

Deputy Noel Treacy

I am sorry that I must go to another meeting. I thank the county manager and the director of services and I welcome all of the public officials. I thank them, in particular, for their personal and collective leadership during a traumatic period for our county. They were outstanding in the leadership they gave and in the co-operation of all of their staff, and their link with the local media assisted all of the community. Co-operation between State agencies and the local authorities is critical to alleviating the flood threat in the future for all of us. We hope that such co-operation and resources can continue.

Deputy Noel Grealish

I wish to follow-up on what my colleague stated. It would be wrong of us if I did not.

Chairman

We are not getting into a question and answer session now.

Deputy Noel Grealish

It is not a question, because I must go. I just want to compliment Galway County Council and its staff on the tremendous work it did during the flooding crisis. They received unfair criticism in particular places, on both national and local radio and television. It was tremendous work with limited resources. Everybody knows what the local authorities have now. They did a tremendous job, in particular, in my area, Lisheenavalla, Claregalway, where there was a significant flooding. I compliment the county manager and her staff, Mr. Frank Gilmore, on the works they carried out during that time.

Chairman

We will proceed with Ms Hunt's presentation.

Ms Majella Hunt

A prolonged but otherwise unremarkable period of wet and unsettled weather beginning as far back as July reached tipping point in County Roscommon on the morning of 19 November 2009. From this date forward, normal annual winter flood levels were dramatically exceeded. In general, the areas in County Roscommon that flooded were prone to flooding — near lakes, rivers, turloughs and active flood plain — or had a historical risk of flooding. However, the level and extent of flooding on this occasion had not been seen in living memory.

Persistent rain followed causing flood levels to rise even further and it took approximately one week for flood levels to peak. After 25 November there were slight improvements at isolated flood locations where topography may have been the dominating risk factor. Change was marginal over the following week. However, interaction between the River Suck and its associated ground water systems caused flood levels at turloughs to rise further and the steady rise in the River Shannon system produced further flooding on low lying lands along its immediate catchment.

From 4 to 9 December, flood levels stabilised and gradually improved, allowing many of our roads and water systems to reactivate. Between 10 and 16 December, the remaining roads flooded, which were largely due to the River Shannon system, were cleared and were reopened.

Beginning on the morning of 19 November and under the co-ordination of the roads section, area staff responded to flood events within the various engineering areas in the county. The following day a flood incident team was convened to support and augment the efforts of the area staff and roads section. The major emergency plan or sub-plan was not formally activated. However, the flood incident team operated in a manner consistent with the procedures outlined in the plan.

The team operated through the weekend and after normal working hours, as required. Initial focus was on warnings and information to road users on the flooded and unsafe road conditions by erecting signage and closing roads; providing assistance to prevent and minimise flood damage to premises threatened by the high flood levels; and evacuation and providing alternative accommodation for persons isolated or threatened by the rising flood levels.

A meeting of the principal response agencies, including the Garda, the HSE and Roscommon County Council took place on 20 November at the local co-ordination centre. Two further meetings took place on 25 November and 4 December to monitor and review the progress of each of the agencies throughout the incident. The meetings were responsible for the establishment of links between the agencies and the improvement of co-ordinated responses for any future event.

Throughout the event, area staff assessed road conditions on a daily basis and relayed that information to the flood incident team. The team provided this information to the public via the council's website and the local media, Garda, HSE and AA Roadwatch. From 19 November through to 16 December the status of all roads known to be flooded was listed on the council's website and the list was linked with a GIS-based mapping system allowing daily up-dates of the flooded roads to be posted on the website. The map accompanying the report shows all of those at the height of the flooding and the associated photographic evidence from around the county. The posted information was analysed and condensed to provide frequent and appropriate information to the media — radio, newspapers and the Garda. More than 150 locations on the road network in County Roscommon, which were mainly local roads, were affected by this flood event. In addition, the most significant floods were surveyed and photographed to the extent possible within the event time frame.

Throughout the event staff identified, or were advised of, premises that were flooded or under threat of flooding. Sand bags and sand were sourced by the flood incident team and issued at local level by the area staff as the need arose. Roscommon County Council supplied in excess of 10,000 sandbags to householders and commercial premises throughout the flooding in November and December. Work was also carried out on temporary drainage to alleviate problems or to divert water to outlets and prevent water entering premises or continuously lodging on roads and rendering them impassable. Also, work was undertaken at many locations to raise roads, particularly in the Clonown area.

In the report there is a tabular detail of the premises flooded throughout the county. In short, eight premises and 18 households in the village of Athleague were flooded. Nine premises in Roscommon town, including the Oakwood Nursing Home which was the home to 40 patients, where flooded, and five households in Four Roads were flooded. Extensive lands and access roads in the Clonown area were flooded. In addition, private family homes in this area were isolated, which necessitated raising the road and the evacuation of many of those families throughout the course of the event.

In Cortober, there were five premises and a large apartment block flooded. In addition, a public plantation area was flooded. In the Castlerea area, there were many households flooded, but there were five or six households extensively flooded around the Millltown and Lakeview areas.

Throughout the event, staff monitored private dwellings that were in danger of being flooded and in danger of being isolated by flooded access roads. As required, and with the assistance of the Army and the Civil Defence, occupants were evacuated from isolated or flooded dwellings. Alternative accommodation was arranged for evacuees by the flood response team. In excess of 40 families were affected by the flooding and were accommodated by Roscommon County Council. Many other families made arrangements with their relatives and friends. However, they were assisted by the council, the Civil Defence or the Army whenever the necessity arose.

Roscommon County Council provided a 24-hour emergency contact number from its customer services desk. In addition, all senior staff within the roads department and at area level were also available to take calls as required. The six engineering area offices provided an on-call, rostered service at weekends and during the entire flooding event.

The structure of the reporting team is itemised in the report. I do not propose to comment on it in detail other than to say that staff from area to senior management level, in co-operation with the various agencies involved, engaged in a continual stream of contact and communication and information dissemination during the entire flooding event. The flood incident team was supported by administrative staff, who manned the emergency numbers and assisted people who had been made homeless or who had welfare issues. The Civil Defence provided 25 volunteers throughout the county. These individuals provided assistance to families throughout the county, including in the areas of welfare and evacuation. We were also assisted by the Army, particularly in the Clonown area where many families were evacuated.

The cost incurred by Roscommon County Council during the flood incident was in excess of €1 million. We received funding from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government under the supplementary fund for flood affected areas. However, this only covered the costs incurred during the flooding. Additional costs were incurred as a result of the excessive damage to the road network throughout the county. The staff of the council estimate that the overall cost, due to road and bridge repairs and flood reduction measures, will be €14.7 million.

The county also experienced difficulties during the severe cold weather that commenced in mid-December and continued until mid-January. The council took a similar approach to dealing with the conditions to which the cold weather gave rise as that it adopted in respect of flooding. Staff worked long hours in order to deal with people's needs and similar structures were deployed at management level. We co-ordinated our efforts with the Garda and the HSE. All national routes were treated with salt during the cold snap and in excess of 5,500 tonnes of salt were utilised. With the exception of a number of specific locations, Roscommon County Council has not gritted regional and local roads in the past. Due to the prolonged severe weather, on this occasion the council gritted regional roads and a limited number of local roads, at hills and junctions, with limestone chippings on a daily basis. Limestone chippings were used instead of rock salt because the latter was in scarce supply. Total expenditure incurred on the treatment of regional and local roads during the severe cold weather was in excess of €431,000. The financial implications for the council of the costs relating to the severe weather are significant and the provision of additional funding will be vital in order to allow it to meet the exceptional costs incurred.

We have learned a number of lessons as a result of recent events. Investment is required in preventive measures in the maintenance of the arterial drainage systems and water courses on a county, regional and national basis. This investment should be channelled through local authorities and the OPW and funded by the Government. Investment in arterial drainage had been insufficient and only minimal work has been carried out in respect of many river systems only receiving minimal work. Many river systems have not been maintained. Clarity is required in respect of responsibility for maintaining river systems and a co-ordinated approach must be adopted.

During the flooding, water supplies in County Roscommon were affected and notices informing people that they should boil water were issued on a number of occasions. However, the disruption to supplies was not significant, either during the flooding or the cold snap that followed. These were dealt with by area staff, supported by management and local co-ordinators.

The two spells of prolonged bad weather had a major impact on our road network and our water systems. The council is developing a plan in respect of its various systems and this will be submitted to the OPW for mitigations under the non-coastal minor works programme. We have submitted applications in respect of 28 schemes under this programme in order that we might deal with some of the minor issues relating to flooding.

Mr. Tim Caffrey

I was asked to provide a brief presentation, lasting no more than five minutes. The major emergency plan for Longford has been in place since September 2008. The purpose of this plan is to facilitate arrangements whereby the three principal emergency response agencies, namely, the local authority, the Garda and the HSE, co-ordinate their efforts in dealing with any major emergency. Key interagency staff participate in regular exercises relating to implementing the plan under various scenarios.

In June and July of 2008, we ran a particular exercise which proved to be of great benefit to us when flooding and severe cold weather occurred in late 2009 and early 2010. The definition of a major emergency is an event which usually, with little or no warning, threatens death or serious injury, serious disruption to essential services or damage to property, the environment or infrastructure, beyond the normal capabilities of the principal emergency services in the area in which the event occurs. It requires the activation of specific additional procedures and mobilisation of additional resources in order to ensure an effective and co-ordinated response.

While the recent weather events in Longford did not meet the terms of the definition of what constitutes a major emergency and did not, therefore, require the activation of the major emergency plan, the procedures contained in that plan were used to deal with the situation in an effective manner. The council's crisis management team met on a number of occasions, as required, as did the local interagency group which consists of representatives from the Garda, the HSE and the council.

While the overall resources of the council were significantly stretched at times, the critical resources required during the recent events were salt and drinking water. Roads staff were extremely successful in maintaining a continuous supply of salt despite the scarcity of central supplies. Water services personnel struggled to manage the reservoir supplies in competition with flagging infrastructure, exceptional usage, running of taps and burst pipes. Every effort was made to ensure that any identified cases of hardship were addressed as soon as possible. At local level, decisions made by area engineers, the general services supervisor and water caretakers, in particular, helped to stave off serious difficulties.

Where particular hardship was not readily identified, the interagency group carried out a survey with the assistance of council workers. We used the register of electors, the services of An Post staff, community gardaí, HSE staff and various community and charitable organisations and clubs to search out vulnerable persons in order to ascertain whether they required assistance. This proved to be of major benefit. Lessons will be learned from this exceptional period of severe weather and from the approach taken. Two sub-plans — the flooding emergency sub-plan and the severe ice sub-plan — to the major emergency plan will be drawn up for use in the future.

Intense rainfall on 18 and 19 November 2009 — at a time when the land was already saturated and river levels were running high — led to severe flooding in Longford town and throughout the county. The flooding event peaked between 19 and 20 November, with the worst of the floods reported to have dissipated by 2 December. The flooding event is believed to have been the worst in over 50 years and was responsible for significant damage to property and public infrastructure, such as roads and bridges. In my submission, I provided details of the moneys that will be required in order to repair this damage.

The fire service received multiple calls for assistance on Thursday, 19 November, as a result of severe flooding in the Longford town area. Requests for assistance were also made in areas such as Ballymahon and Edgeworthstown. The sudden demand for fire brigade assistance, combined with reports of high water levels in the Ballymahon and Newtowncashel areas, which is adjacent to Lough Ree, and the weather forecasts for continued high levels of rainfall, led to activation of the crisis management team, in accordance with Longford local authority's business continuity plan. The crisis management team met on several occasions and co-ordinated the response of the council to the flooding event. The staff of Longford local authority, including the fire service, Civil Defence, roads and water services, environment, housing staff and corporate services, worked hard to alleviate the problems being faced across County Longford. We handed out free sandbags to anyone requesting them and we also visited a number of homes around the county.

We learned lessons as a result of the exercise. It is crucial to identify essential services at a very early stage. Another issue that came to the fore was the maintenance of employment, particularly in situations of snow and ice. Bord na Móna and ESB are located in Longford and we worked very closely with both those organisations to ensure the roads were kept accessible.

Aerial photographic surveys of the flooded areas were undertaken at the time of the flooding and they are to be mapped. This will provide information about all vulnerable areas which in turn will inform a review of the risk assessment process. The need for improvement in existing communications systems was identified. They worked well at the time and additional training for emergencies was provided. We liaised with other adjoining authorities and other agencies. We need to develop a database of vulnerable persons and this is being undertaken in conjunction with the HSE, the Garda Síochána, the Department of Social and Family Affairs and other agencies.

Mr. Danny McLoughlin

I have submitted a presentation to members in bullet-point format. I will not labour every point but I will deal with the three important points, flooding, freezing conditions and associated water problems.

I will begin with the sequence of events regarding the localised flooding in Athlone on 18 November. It became clear by 20 November that the Shannon levels were becoming a problem. We started to move out sandbags and we commenced public information warnings from 20 to 23 November. At this stage only council staff were involved but the Garda Síochána and the Army were being informally advised of developments. On 24 November, there was an unhappy coincidence of a public sector strike and a rapidly deteriorating condition with regard to water levels. At that stage the Army and Civil Defence had to be called in. On 25 November, the flood response co-ordination group led by the council was established which included Westmeath County Council, Athlone Town Council, the Army, Garda Síochána, HSE, St. Vincent de Paul and the Athlone flood relief centre.

Military assistance and Civil Defence were in place until 11 December, having been called in on 25 November. They were involved in the distribution of sandbags, evacuation, distribution of food parcels and provision of transport to heavily flooded rural areas and so on. Somewhat later, on 4 December, we established a flooding recovery sub-group which held a public meeting on 4 December where all the affected parties asked direct questions of the agencies involved, including the HSE, the county council and social services. The co-ordination meetings continued until 18 December when they were stood down and there followed a review. A recovery and clean-up operation continued throughout the month of January 2010.

In total about 200 homes were flooded by flood waters. Of those, 75 homes in the town area were flooded and 17 in the rural area. We distributed 25,000 sandbags and water pumps were distributed. A total of 37 families were assisted with temporary housing. Some of these had to be moved into transitional housing while their homes are being refurbished and they are still not back in their homes. We provided transport to rural families to get to school and for pensioners to get to the post office. A substantial clean-up took place throughout January involving the removal of sandbags, and flood debris being moved to landfill. The streets were disinfected and we distributed skips, gloves, refuse sacks, masks and overalls.

It is clear there needs to be advance co-ordinated information with regard to forecasting, river levels, agency intentions and upstream and downstream fluctuations. This clear message has also been stated by other speakers. The emergency framework worked both locally and nationally. There is a need to accelerate flood mapping associated with the revised flood levels experienced over the months of November and December. Short-term and long-term flood defence measures will be required. We have liaised with the Office of Public Works about applying for local mitigation measures and we hope to hear news of that application in the next couple of weeks. This was the worst flooding since 1954 and there is a need to examine the consequences in the context of climate adaptation strategies.

To deal with the issue of winter gritting of roads, the slide shows the ground level temperatures over the period of December and early January and these statistics speak for themselves, with temperatures as low as -13° Celsius on some dates. The next slide indicates that as a matter of form when ground levels require it, Westmeath County Council grits all motorway and national primary routes, all national secondary routes, a total of 165 km or 53% of regional roads, and 30 km of local roads. In total, 462 km of roads per run are gritted, once per night and using 100 tonnes of rock salt per run. The map indicates the road network for County Westmeath. The materials used are rock salt or sea salt and at times, inert 3 mm to 4 mm limestone grit. A salt barn is located in Mullingar which can store 1,000 tonnes and an outdoor slab in Athlone can store 800 tonnes. The county council duty engineer decides when to order a gritting run, based on data collected from the various SCADA and Icecast systems around the county.

The next two slides deal with the salt stocks. On 22 November a total of 1,860 tonnes was in stock which is the total storage capacity. These stocks diminished over the time period. During the most severe weather period, from 12 December to 14 January, a 34-day period, there were 34 gritting events whereas during a normal season, the number would be 35 for the full season.

In response to the adverse weather conditions, along with the gritting operation, we arranged regular press releases on radio. We liaised with the Garda Síochána and the HSE with particular reference to elderly and vulnerable people. The footpaths in the main towns were salted and there was a telephone response from the customer service desk.

The difficulties encountered are well established at this stage as a result of the subsequent national debate. The duration and severity of the period of severe weather gave rise to its own difficulties. The problem was widespread across the entire country as well as in Britain and mainland Europe, and this put significant pressure on the availability and supply of rock salt. On the question as to whether additional storage for salt would be of assistance, it is noted that salt has a finite lifespan. There is the question as to whether we should consider a contract to supply salt rather than depending on the option to purchase it. The issue of responsibility for footpaths has been raised at this committee on other occasions as has the question of third-party intervention and liability if farmers or individual shopkeepers become involved. I understand the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Minister for Transport, have both indicated they will consider legislation in that regard.

The water supply problems associated with the adverse wet weather were primarily centred around Mullingar. I have detailed for the committee a chronology of events. In summary, the main water source in the centre of County Westmeath is Lough Owel at Mullingar. When the raw water temperatures plunge as they did, this gives rise to additional pressures and difficulties with regard to water treatment. Our average consumption is approximately 20,000 cu. m. per day and this increased to 22,500 cu. m. per day. This was accompanied by freezing pipes. Once people were advised of the problem, they started to use water in a counter-intuitive fashion. Rather than conserve water, they started to use water. During that period, the council fixed about 250 leaks and the Army and Civil Defence were deployed with water tankers. We erected about 25 water stand-pipes. I refer the committee to the documentation. The following graph shows the raw water temperature went from 5 Celsius to below zero and the next graph shows our capacity to deal with the problem in terms of consumption exceeding production which is a real problem. This was primarily associated with leaks and with people allowing taps to run during the night. This is a proven fact and is not conjecture. The flows in the wastewater treatment systems during night hours clearly indicate that people were running taps during the night.

We established an incident room on 29 December with twice-daily crisis management team meetings. Telephones were manned on a 24-seven basis and also at weekends by four staff. Four emergency out-of-hours numbers were also made available. The role of staff manning the telephones was to advise, record problems and to liaise with management teams. Daily press and web releases were also provided and also advertisements on local radio. The organisational response involved all of the foregoing. In total, 21 staff manned the telephones on a rota basis and large numbers of outdoor staff were redeployed to work outside normal hours and at weekends. On the weekend of 6 January, 48 staff worked a total of 1,391 hours and on the weekend of 13 January, 46 staff worked a total of 993 hours. Six technical support staff were also involved.

The next two slides detail the number of telephone calls answered within and without hours and the figures speak for themselves. A total of 30 stand-pipes were installed at various locations. A total of six water tankers were operated by the county council, three tankers by Civil Defence and three tankers by the Army. These were targeted at community and estate groups.

The issues arising highlighted a need to expand and increase in size the emergency equipment stocks in place in mid-December. It is very clear that the public were not interacting with the website, despite the fact that comprehensive messages were available there. The local radio is seen to be a more amenable or more obvious conduit for the dispersal of information. There was a clear lack of knowledge with regard to the responsibilities of those on the ground and where the boundaries of responsibility lay with regard to service pipes, stop-cocks and so on. There was only basic information available about the vulnerable elderly population. This needs to be co-ordinated and mapped and we are in discussion with the HSE and the Garda Síochána to make available clear and concise information about vulnerable and elderly people.

The debate about the enforcement of standards of construction has come to the fore as a result of the freezing-up of services. The local authority exercises a voluntary code whereby up to 15% of all developments are inspected under the building control legislation and to go beyond this level would require more substantial resources. There is an onus on individual purchasers to have the services checked and so on.

A clear issue emerging is that messages to conserve water appear to be counter-intuitive because on certain occasions that message was followed by a 25% increase in consumption rather than a reduction.

Chairman

The final presentation is from Mr. Edmund Gleeson, county manager of Limerick County Council.

Mr. Edmond Gleeson

I have circulated a report to members on the main elements of Limerick County Council's response to the flooding and severe weather conditions in December 2009 and January 2010.

We learned lessons from a devastating flood in July and August 2008 in west Limerick and, as a result, a draft inter-agency plan for flooding was drawn up which was of particular use in setting out the approach to the flood response of December 2009. Both responses were typified by a very high degree of co-operation and co-ordination, both between sections within Limerick County Council and between Limerick County Council and a large number of other responding agencies, affected families, businesses and other entities. As such, they form a model for future interventions of this nature.

The Met Éireann monthly weather summary for November 2009 reported that persistent and often heavy rain and saturated ground conditions led to unprecedented levels of flooding in parts of the west and south. We made our own comparisons for November 2009 and at Shannon Airport, 277% more rainfall was recorded than the average.

The Shannon catchment was particularly badly impacted upon by this prolonged and unprecedented rainfall, all of which ultimately discharges through the ESB-controlled weir upstream of Limerick city. The Office of Public Works has a hydrometric gauge at the ESB's Parteen Weir which digitally records water levels. The water levels recorded here during the month of November 2009 were the highest levels ever recorded by the ESB and the OPW.

The ESB alerted Limerick County Council to the potential increase in discharges late on the afternoon of Friday, 20 November 2009. Recognising the potential for serious flooding arising from increasing discharges, a decision to mobilise the crisis management team was taken that evening and it convened at 9 a.m. on Saturday, 21 November 2009 in county buildings, Dooradoyle. The crisis management team is a tactical-level management group which assembled on a regular basis to manage, control and co-ordinate Limerick County Council's overall response to the flooding. The other principal response agencies, the Garda Síochána, the Health Service Executive and Civil Defence, were also represented in the crisis management centre. Meeting regularly throughout the event, the final meeting of the group took place on 9 December 2009.

The Annacotty area office was used as the on-site co-ordination centre to oversee the operational response to the flooding from 20 November until the winding-up of the operation on 1 December 2009.

The impacted areas in County Limerick stretched from Montpelier village downstream through Castleconnell, Mountshannon and Plassey, to the confluence with the Groody river. Based on available mapping, ESB flood profiles and the An Post Geodirectory system, by early Saturday our staff were able to predict those areas and the numbers of properties most likely to be directly impacted upon by the rising flood waters.

Limerick County Council closed a number of roads in the Montpelier, O'Brien's Bridge and Castleconnell areas. Local diversions were set up and maintained in the areas affected. Two pedestrian bridges in Castletroy and Castleconnell were also closed. Substantial damage was done to roads and footpaths in the Castleconnell and Montpelier areas.

Housing estates at Brookhaven, Montpelier, Meadowbrook and Castleconnell were inundated, as were several individual houses in the area between Montpelier and the Groody river, particularly at Mountshannon lane. A total of 22 families left their properties. A number of farms had large areas of land under water with no fodder for livestock. The farming organisations and Limerick County Council's community and enterprise section were in contact with the farmers to address any animal welfare issues.

The waste water treatment plant situated in Drumore, Castletroy, experienced flooding which was very close to making the plant non-operational. A significant effort was undertaken by Limerick County Council staff in preventing the plant from flooding. This involved the continuous pumping of water for five days during the flood peak. The sewerage plant at Brookhaven, Montpelier was required to be emptied during the flood event.

Limerick County Council's environmental laboratory monitored the drinking water quality in the affected areas throughout the flooding. Although only very low levels of contamination was identified, the HSE advised that a precautionary boil-water notice be put in place for the Montpelier area.

Response to the flooding by the Annacotty area staff commenced on Friday, 20 November 2009 and continued until Tuesday, 1 December 2009. Annacotty crews were assisted by staff from other areas and head office. During the peak operations, 36 staff were deployed, working some 2,010 hours. Approximately 340 tonnes of sand and 20,000 sandbags were used during the flooding. The report also lists the large amount of machinery used by Limerick County Council staff. Additional pumping plant was made available by both the OPW and a local contractor. The fire service also responded to flooding incidents throughout the period.

Accommodation issues arising from the flooding were addressed by the council's housing department, the homeless unit and the Health Service Executive. The response was co-ordinated by the housing department and a total of 22 families had to vacate their houses. No household had to be evacuated by the emergency services. This flooding incident was slow and progressive and this allowed time for Limerick County Council to advise vulnerable households as to the options available to them should they need to vacate their homes. Contingency plans were also put in place with two local hotels and a retirement village complex. I have included a breakdown of the accommodation provided. Some families stayed with relatives, some stayed in rented accommodation sourced by the council, one or two went to retirement homes and nursing homes and one family stayed in bed and breakfast accommodation. Families were assisted financially by the HSE via emergency payments and rent supplement payments. A total of 52 households were affected by flooding and were contacted by the council's housing personnel.

The environment section of Limerick County Council was responsible for assistance with the disposal of flood damaged items. Residents were advised to take appropriate hygiene precautions when handling flood damaged items. An advice leaflet published by the HSE environmental health section was distributed to the residents affected by the flooding. Waterproof gloves and hygienic wipes were provided to the residents by Limerick County Council. Information was provided on the items that were suitable for landfill disposal and those to be collected by the council staff for separate disposal.

The crisis management team used an information management system to capture the evolving events of the flooding. The purpose of the information management system is to assemble available data and to give decision makers relevant information as a sound basis for their decision-making function. The senior engineers, assisted by engineers from Annacotty and other council staff, were constantly reviewing the situation and reporting back to the crisis management team. The director of transportation and water services attended the daily mid-west interagency group meetings which were hosted by Clare County Council in Ennis. The director liaised between that group and Limerick County Council's crisis management team. Regular daily updates were provided by ESB staff from Parteen who attended meetings in Limerick and Ennis. Shannon Development and the University of Limerick received regular updates on known and predicted impacts on Plassey technology park and the university campus. Limerick County Council staff engaged in regular liaison with University of Limerick buildings staff in relation to water, waste water and other matters.

Many communications channels were used throughout the emergency. The Limerick County Council out-of-office hours emergency helpline was used to assist the public with any queries about the flood. The Annacotty area staff also operated a helpline service during the peak flood. In addition to regular communication with individual councillors, a briefing meeting was arranged for the Castleconnell electoral area committee. The housing and community and enterprise sections of Limerick County Council maintained close contact with residents who were forced to evacuate their homes. Two meetings were held in the Castle Oaks Hotel to discuss the impact of the flooding and to assist residents in any way possible. A further meeting was held with the Castleconnell and Montpelier community council. Limerick County Council, the Garda Síochána and the Health Service Executive were represented at those meetings. ESB representatives and an insurance adviser attended the meeting on 5 December. The local residents in attendance appreciated the meetings and complimented Limerick County Council on its response to the flooding.

A text messaging service was set up to provide daily messages to members of the crisis management team and people in the community who were affected by the flooding. Regular press releases were issued to local and national media organisations to update people on the status of the flooding and to distribute public interest messages, such as health advice and boil water notices. The assistance of the media, particularly local radio and press, was greatly appreciated. A link on the website of Limerick County Council, www.lcc.ie, gave members of the community up-to-date information and advice on the flooding. The website set out the actions people needed to undertake if forced to evacuate their homes, details and status of road closures, advice on returning to and cleaning properties, and boil water notices. The council received full reimbursement of its initial response expenditure of €180,300 from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government’s supplementary funding mechanism. It did not receive any additional funding in respect of infrastructural damage and remedial works which have been estimated at €1.2 million.

I wish to speak about the severe weather event of December 2009 and January 2010. A spell of cold weather commenced on 18 December 2009 and continued until mid January 2010. This was the most prolonged cold snap since 1963, with temperatures dropping to as low as -13°Celsius. The adverse weather conditions led to heavy falls of snow throughout the county, with west Limerick being particularly affected. Limerick County Council operates an ice prediction system, Icecast, in conjunction with the National Roads Authority. The system, which provides real-time weather monitoring on national roads, has been in use for almost ten years. The system is monitored by rostered engineers who activate the appropriate response on the basis of information from the system and their own judgment. Pre-salting of roads in advance of freezing temperatures is the usual response and is a regular feature of the winter maintenance programme. Salt lowers the temperature at which water freezes and inhibits the crystallisation of water particles into ice. More frequent treatment may be needed, however, depending on variations in weather conditions and the severity of the cold snap in question. During the recent weather event, it was sometimes necessary to salt the roads up to three times in a 24-hour period.

Limerick County Council had prepared well by stockpiling more than 800 tons of salt by the beginning of December, with additional supplies on order. As the cold snap extended and the European and national shortage of salt became apparent, it was necessary to prioritise the salting programme. Priority was given to national primary and secondary roads, regional roads and primary local roads. This covered over 20% of the road network and accounted for approximately 80% of the traffic. Regional roads did not receive the same intensity of salting as national roads. Salt is stocked in strategic depots throughout the county. The dedicated winter maintenance equipment includes six large gritters, six small gritters, five snow ploughs and five graders that are effective as snow ploughs. The council's machinery and equipment has been upgraded and subject to preventative maintenance and calibration. Over the Christmas and new year period, council staff worked day and night to maintain the fleet in good working order, to avoid breakdowns and to ensure roads were treated as required every day.

Interagency meetings were arranged with representatives of the Garda, the HSE ambulance service, the fire services, the Civil Defence and the Defence Forces. The media were used to disseminate regular bulletins, interviews and warnings. Elected members were briefed throughout the period of cold weather. Tributes were paid to all staff at a specially convened council meeting. I thank all the organisations that helped Limerick County Council deal with the severe conditions. In addition to keeping national, regional and primary local roads open, priority was given to addressing hardship cases and specific locally identified situations, including medical emergencies and funerals. The county council succeeded in keeping national, regional and local primary roads open and most county roads were passable with care.

The total cost of the winter maintenance operation to date has been €450,000. This expenditure will be met, in part, through the NRA winter maintenance fund for national roads. A significant part of the cost will be met from the non-national road allocation, which is already seriously stretched. The condition of the road network following the severe weather conditions is of major concern. The cost of repairing frost-related roads is estimated at €4.2 million. This has been relayed to the appropriate Departments. While some additional funding has been provided for national roads, no additional funding has been made available for non-national roads. The council will make every effort to carry out the necessary repairs on a priority basis, within the resources available to it.

Water services throughout the county were also affected by the severe weather. There was an increase in water demand during the period of severe weather. The thaw which began around 11 January further exacerbated the water demand and supply issues. Water demand in water schemes around the county rose by 20% or more, with increases of 50% in some supplies. The service pipes to a number of houses froze, thereby depriving households of water. The council acknowledges the spirit of co-operation between households in providing water to neighbours whose pipes had been affected. Repair crews were called out throughout the Christmas period, including some calls on Christmas Day. Apart from sections of the Abbeyfeale supply, water supplies were maintained without undue impact on customers and despite increased demand. Water tankers were deployed to Mountcollins, Athea, Abbeyfeale and Tournafulla in west Limerick when water outages affected outlying areas of the Abbeyfeale scheme. Tankers in these areas were stood down when supplies were restored.

In seeking to maintain supplies through the thaw, Limerick County Council set about reducing demand to meet available supply by finding and fixing leaks. Priority was given to schemes where the imbalance between demand and supply was highest. Long after normal consumer service was restored, a considerable effort continues to be made to deal with frost related leaks in the system as the council seeks to minimise water that is not accounted for. Some of the lessons we need to learn for the future have already been mentioned. While Limerick County Council is reasonably satisfied with its response to the flooding and severe weather events, a number of issues need to be addressed. As I said earlier, the council's draft flood plan, which will be the blueprint for our response to events of this kind, needs to be completed as soon as possible. Consideration needs to be given to the rationalisation and co-ordination of salt purchase, storage and distribution. The issue of pedestrian safety, particularly in large urban areas, needs further examination in the context of severe weather events. Issues surrounding the use of community groups, including health and safety and insurance implications, need to be clarified at national level. Under the present structures, it was not possible for Limerick County Council to deal with all the 400 km of footpath for which it has responsibility.

I would like to speak briefly about the Shannon river basin management plan for which Limerick County Council is the lead authority. Under the EU water framework directive, which was agreed in 2000, river basin management plans must be prepared. These cover the entire EU. There are eight river basin districts covering the island of Ireland, including the Shannon river basin district, the largest at more than 18,000 sq. km in area. It stretches from its source in the Cuilcagh Mountains in County Cavan to the tip of the Dingle Peninsula.

Limerick County Council is designated as the co-ordinating authority for the Shannon river basin management plan. Up to 17 counties and Limerick city are involved in the plan which has been in preparation since 2004. It is expected the plan will be formally adopted by the individual councils in the coming months. The adoption of plans is a reserve function of local authority members.

In addition to the democratic involvement of the local authorities, an advisory council has been established in each river basin district. The Shannon river basin advisory council consists of 36 county and city councillors, SPC members representing each of the 18 major local authorities, seven representatives of town councils and ten representatives from the farming, fishing, recreation and environmental sectors. It was first established in 2006 and the life of the council is the same as that of the county council. Its role is to consider matters relating to the preparation of the river basin management plans and other matters relevant to the protection of the aquatic environment and water resources in the district and to advise and make recommendations on these matters to the relevant public authorities.

The water directive specifies member states must ensure their waters achieve at least good status by 2015 and that the status does not deteriorate. Waters include rivers, canals, lakes, reservoirs, protected areas, wetlands and coastal waters.

The river basin plan gives the current status of the Shannon waters, specifies the targeted status by 2015 and outlines the means by which this will be achieved. The overall plan, which must be adopted by the 18 local authorities, will include strategic measures to address points and diffuse sources of pollution. Obviously, major national investment will be required to achieve the targets in the timeframes.

The scope of the plan does not extend to flooding. That is covered by the floods directive which requires flood risk management plans to be in place by 2015 and which will be the responsibility of the Office of Public Works. The flooding of the Shannon callows is not the responsibility of the river basin management advisory council or Limerick County Council.

Chairman

I thank Mr. Gleeson for his comprehensive presentation.

Deputy James Bannon

I compliment the county managers from the midlands on their most informative and interesting presentations. From what we have heard, the devastation in the midlands was equal, if not greater, than that in the south, a point I have highlighted at earlier meetings.

A series of aerial photographs were taken to show the extent of the road closures in counties Westmeath and Longford due to the flooding. Can these be submitted to the committee for its report?

Longford County Council had responsibility for maintenance of the Rinn and Blackwater rivers, funding for which was provided by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Office of Public Works. Since this was ceased, the silting of the rivers has not been addressed. What is the Longford county manager's view on this?

How many water treatment facilities were flooded in the midlands? What protection measures will be put in place for them in the event of future flooding?

In the boom years, much development was permitted on flood plains in the Shannon river system. As greedy developers took over these sites, many water courses were closed. Will this be addressed in future county and area development plans?

Will the Longford and Westmeath county managers outline the financial deficit under which both councils are operating as they work to make good the devastation caused by the severe weather conditions? I have been informed it will run into millions of euro. Some constituents in Athlone have informed me they will have problems getting insurance cover if flood defences are not put in place. What action is being taken in this regard?

As many water schemes in the midlands date back to the late 1960s and early 1970s, some have old asbestos piping. What assistance do the councils believe should be forthcoming from the Government to update these schemes?

The Shannon river basin management plan was signed off by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government last October but has not been followed up on in implementation and funding. Does the Limerick county manager have an idea when this will take place?

I sympathise with the many farmers, businesses and householders whose property and homes were devastated by the effects of the flooding. Many have not returned to their homes some three months after the event. It is to be hoped the lack of funding will be rectified by proposals coming from today's discussions. It is important this is documented for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government who holds the purse strings. There is anger among local representatives at the failure to fund local authorities in the midlands adequately. Their rate base tends to be very low. Between 7% and 8% of income is derived from commercial rates in County Longford, which is probably the lowest in the country. We need to highlight this more often. We need an equalisation programme to benefit the smaller counties. Leitrim is in a similar situation, but I will let Deputy Feighan speak on that county.

Deputy Denis Naughten

I compliment the staff of all the local authorities who were on the front line. In fairness to them, they provided an excellent service in very severe weather conditions. Staff in Roscommon were available at all hours of the night to come out, and I know the same happened with the other local authorities.

Who is in charge of co-ordinating the gates on the River Suck? There is a set of gates in Ballinasloe, but as we heard earlier, some of them have not been opened in 40 years. There is a second set of gates in Athleague. There is a significant fall between Athleague and Ballinasloe, so there are major implications for landowners on both sides of the River Suck when both sets of gates are opened. Who ensures that when one set is opened, the other set is also opened?

Do we know how many people in each local authority area will have to be relocated permanently from their homes following the severe flooding? Were officials in any of the local authorities aware of the information disclosed earlier by the ESB that water levels on Lough Allen and Lough Ree were 2 m and 1 m, respectively, over their summer operating levels? They could have been prepared for the serious flooding of residential areas at the end of the year.

I apologise for leaving but I have another meeting to attend at 7 p.m. I will read the response on the record.

Senator Nicky McFadden

I would like to record to Westmeath County Council my appreciation of the support provided to the community during the two weather crises. I am concerned about the damage caused to roads in the wake of the bad weather. Does the Westmeath county manager think there will be sufficient money to repair these? I was told a system operates in the North of Ireland whereby an element or heater is threaded through water pipes, and this prevents the pipes from freezing. Could we invest in such a system? Water was frozen 2 ft. below the surface in the Kilbeggan area. Once again, I thank the staff and the county manager of Westmeath County Council for the work done over recent months.

Deputy Frank Feighan

I also thank the staff of the local authorities for the work they carried out in very difficult circumstances. The people owe a great deal of gratitude to local authority workers who went beyond the call of duty.

I felt our communications were a little slow in respect of flooding and roads. During the flooding crisis, claims were made on local radio by councillors and citizens that caused a lot of confusion. It was only when the local authorities came together and delivered a combined message that things were clarified. Local authorities should be on top of the management game, but I think we may have fallen down in that regard.

It is impossible for the local authorities to provide every solution and community groups should have been given specific areas in which they could help out, such as the spreading of salt in certain locations. I know the crisis was unprecedented but perhaps the National Roads Authority should ensure there is enough stock in the country. We were caught in the first few weeks, but we then got back to a certain level.

What really annoys me is that this was not a national emergency until it hit the city. We were freezing for three weeks before it became a national emergency. I find it difficult to understand how we were not able to get the message through.

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames

I thank the witnesses for the presentations. I also record my thanks to Galway County Council and its staff for their work. It was considerable and unprecedented, yet it was not the response that some people needed because the crisis was so grave. I appreciate it was impossible to be everywhere. Galway had the largest number of acres under water in the country.

I am concerned about future flood prevention. What is being done in Galway by agencies such as the OPW for Caherleigh, Lisheenavalla, Carnmore, Lisheenkyle and Moneymore? I am relatively happy with the progress in Moneymore, but I would like to know a bit more. Has Galway County Council received adequate money to remediate the roads affected by the floods and the frost? Given that some roads were in a poor state before the flooding and the frost, how are works being prioritised? I am specifically talking about Galway and the N6. The roads near Lisheenkyle and Castlelambert were already under attack prior to the weather crises, so how are they being managed now?

How much joined-up thinking is taking place between Galway County Council and other agencies? I have met flood victims in Carnmore and Claregalway and while some of them are in a bad state, none of them has received humanitarian aid, unlike in Athlone or Clonmel. These people are being told by community welfare officers that there is no point in applying for aid because it is means tested and they will not qualify. All rent relief has been stopped and they are receiving no assistance whatsoever. Some of these people are having to pay two heating and two electricity bills because they are trying to dry out their flooded homes while also having to service the utilities in the homes in which they are temporarily residing. Many people in this situation are in dire financial circumstances. I am aware of one young family who had a strip foundation to their house as opposed to a raft foundation, and it is likely that the building will have to be demolished.

The incidence of frozen pipes has caused considerable flooding problems. In some of the newer estates in Galway it was discovered when the crisis occurred that pipes were only 6 in. below ground as opposed to the regulation 18 in. or thereabouts. There are 400 houses in estates such as the private Oranhill estate where pipes in at least one tenth, or 40, of the buildings froze and residents had no water for a considerable time. Does Galway County Council have responsibility in private estates with regard to enforcement? The council granted the planning permission for these developments and would have set down the regulations. I presume a council engineer would have signed off on the developments, although perhaps the pipes were not inspected. How do we assist citizens who have invested hundreds of thousands of euro in these properties? Is there any fallback for them? I thank the delegates for listening to the issues I have raised.

Deputy Michael Fitzpatrick

I do not have any specific questions for the delegation but I highly commend local authority officials and their county managers, including my own county manager, Mr. Michael Malone, on the way in which they dealt with the crisis. It has been uplifting for us all to see their response because there has been much criticism over the years of how local authorities do their business. They excelled on this occasion and are deserving of our praise. The delegates' presentations were useful because they were concise in delivering the facts as well as offering a roadmap of their plans for addressing this issue into the future.

Deputy Bannon asked the Longford county manager whether he is satisfied with the funding that was available from national government. The document circulated to members makes clear that he is not satisfied, the council having received nothing close to what is required to do the necessary work. It is important for this committee to highlight to the Minister that additional funding must, where possible, be made available to ensure roads do not revert to the condition they were in ten or 15 years ago. The road network has increased and improved substantially in recent years and it would be a great pity if that progress were lost owing to a lack of funding.

The severe weather pointed to the importance of volunteerism in this State, and we all see how volunteers came out to assist people in their communities. It is important to emphasise there was no loss of life during the weather crisis. That is a great tribute to volunteers and local authority staff, officials and county managers. I compliment everybody concerned on a job well done.

Chairman

Do local authorities include in their annual estimates a figure for rivers maintenance? When I was a county councillor there was often a few bob set aside for small rivers maintenance which generally came under the heading of roads engineering. Who is responsible for the maintenance of small rivers? I accept that such rivers may run through private property, which raises difficulties, but problems begin with tributaries running into larger rivers. Do the local delegates have an expenditure line in their estimates for that type of maintenance? Is it the case that money which used to be set aside for this purpose has been absorbed into roads budgets?

I echo everything members said regarding the response of local authorities to the crisis. Staff worked day and night over the Christmas period to assist people. They are locally based organisations on the front line in dealing with these matters, and the public has acknowledged their efforts. There may have been complaints about other State agencies but that discontent, by and large, was not directed at county and city councils. I now invite Ms Moloney to make a brief response to the questions raised.

Ms Martina Moloney

I thank members for their words of support regarding the work of local authorities in dealing with the problems that arose. As members acknowledged, many staff worked above and beyond the call of duty. Our resources have been stretched throughout the period since the middle of November in dealing with the various incidents.

Deputy Bannon asked about photographs of flooding. We have brought some photographs with us which the committee is welcome to include in the report it intends to prepare. Several members asked about the maintenance of drainage districts. In Galway, the local authority has responsibility for several drainage districts, but the funding allocation available to us for this purpose is entirely inadequate. Our current allocation for the local drainage districts outside of the River Suck and the River Fergus is only €70,000. It was very much acknowledged in the report of the flood review group that our responsibilities in this regard are not adequately funded.

In regard to the responsibility of the Office of Public Works, there are large tracts of County Galway where the issue of drainage is dealt with entirely by that office. In the case of some 50% of the river channels in the county, no specific agency has responsibility, and the question of riparian ownership and so on arises in those cases. The issue of flood protection measures for our own water treatment plants is something we need to address, as was brought home to us clearly in Ballinasloe and Portumna during the flooding. This will have to be taken into account as part of our climate change adaptation strategy. Again, funding will be required for that work.

Deputy Bannon asked about the issue of development on flood plains. That will be addressed in the context of the recently issued ministerial guidelines to ensure issues of flooding are considered in the context of new development plans or local area plans and in the context of development applications. In regard to funding, the approach taken by the Minister for Transport in allowing a high degree of flexibility in regard to the allocation of funding for the roads programme in 2010 has been very helpful in allowing us to work on the priority issues we need to address this year. As I mentioned in my report, we are still analysing the amount of money we require. The extreme weather has caused difficulties for the road network that are still emerging because we are still having frost. Moreover, in parts of south Galway the waters have only very recently abated from the roads since the flooding last November. We continue to address those complexities and our intention is to continue to analyse the situation into the future.

Deputy Naughten raised the issue of the flood gates on the River Suck. In terms of the management of that river, a drainage committee is in place, but my understanding is that the flood gates have not been opened for some time. We are in discussions with the Office of Public Works to determine what works are necessary in regard to the flood gates and what minor flood relief works will be required on the River Suck. We intend to put together a programme of maintenance works which will run possibly for the next five years. In addition, it is intended to look to the Office of Public Works to prepare a flood relief scheme for the town of Ballinasloe to ensure that what was experienced last November will not be replicated.

On the issue of permanent relocation, our office has received five or six applications through our office, which we have conveyed to the Office of Public Works, from people who seek relocation on a permanent basis. They come in particular from the area around south Galway that is a turlough area and in which unique geological factors are at play, which means it will be very difficult to resolve the flooding situation there on a permanent basis. We have referred these cases to the Office of Public Works nationally for a decision on whether a relocation scheme will be put in place but as yet, we have not received any feedback in this regard. I am not familiar with any issues regarding the water levels on Lough Ree or Lough Allen in advance of the flooding last November.

On the issue of community groups and the frost, we used them in particular to try to look in on their neighbours and to try in particular to befriend older or isolated people in the community. In situations in which they sought salt or grit from us, we tried in so far as possible to facilitate them within the resources available to us. At that point, we usually were only in a position to supply grit because obviously we were obliged to conserve and preserve our salt supplies for the major networks.

The issue of communication was raised by Deputy Feighan and this is something from which we can learn on an ongoing basis. We put a map of the county on our website on which the affected roads were marked. As we had up to 40,000 hits on the website, it is clear that many people accessed the information through that medium on an ongoing basis. In addition, we issued press releases every few hours. Every day, three or four press releases were made, which we found to be useful. In addition, emergency phone lines were manned to make available the information to those people who rang them, of whom there was quite a number. Moreover, the local media, particularly the local radio station and newspapers, were useful in getting the information out to the local community and comprised an important conduit for us in that regard. Obviously however, there is no system that cannot be improved on further analysis.

In response to the queries from Senator Healy Eames, we are working closely on the issue of flood prevention with the Office of Public Works. As for the specific area around Caherlea and so on, this matter is being taken forward by the Office of Public Works because it forms part of the River Clare catchment that is managed by that office. In respect of the other area around Oranmore, we are working with the Office of Public Works to identify solutions to the problems that were incurred there. I believe I have covered the issue of the funding for roads in general. Senator Healy Eames also addressed the particular issue of Lisheenkyle, which arises from damage done on foot of the construction of the M6 motorway. We have received a specific allocation from the National Roads Authority to try to address the damage done to the county roads and efforts in this regard are under way at present.

I am not aware that the issue of humanitarian aid has been raised. It certainly has not been raised with me heretofore and obviously it is an issue we will refer to the HSE for consideration. On the issue of inadequate pipe depths in estates, before considering the taking in charge of any estate, obviously we would expect its developer to put the estate in order. I understand the particular circumstances to which Senator Healy Eames refers concern an estate that is not in the charge of the county council. Consequently, it will be the responsibility of the developer to ensure compliance with the regulations in that regard. Like Deputy Fitzpatrick, I acknowledge the work of volunteers throughout this incident. Galway County Council could not possibly have covered the 1,300 sq. m. for which it has responsibility without the help of volunteers, whether formally through the Civil Defence or through the IFA or the many other community groups that assisted throughout the flood event.

Deputy James Bannon

On the Galway county manager's comments regarding the ownership of estates by developers, when their planning permission expires, whose responsibility will this be? Developers usually walk away and vigilance must be maintained to ensure that before they can do so, they must bring the estate up to an acceptable standard.

Ms Martina Moloney

That also would be our intention.

Ms Majella Hunt

I wish to acknowledge the appreciation and knowledge evinced by the Chairman and members in respect of the councils' role in the two events. Praise is due to all our outdoor and management staff throughout this period, during which we tried to answer all the calls and to deal with the unprecedented situation. As for the number of issues that were raised, Roscommon County Council conducted aerial photography of the incidents, the results of which can be made available to the joint committee. While a number of photographs were included in our presentation, I can make available a larger selection. We are responsible for approximately 25% of the arterial drainage within our county, the Office of Public Works is responsible for another 25% and no level of responsibility exists for the other 50%. Roscommon County Council provides a sum of €350,000 in its estimates every year for the drainage for which it is responsible. In addition, Roscommon County Council, in partnership with Galway County Council, has joint responsibility for maintenance of the River Suck through a committee. A small amount of joint funding, namely, €250,000, is provided between the two authorities for maintenance works only. Obviously, all these sums are insufficient for the works that are required, particularly given that 50% of it lies outside our jurisdiction.

Chairman

Does this mean the others are on private property?

Ms Majella Hunt

They are on private property and no agency is responsible for it.

Chairman

Moreover, as we have heard, the Shannon is no one's responsibility. We will not go there now.

Ms Majella Hunt

With regard to expenditure incurred during the severe weather, Roscommon County Council incurred expenditure of €1 million for which it was reimbursed by the Department under the supplementary funding for flooded areas. On completion of the flooding event, we analysed the flooding damage throughout the county and prepared a submission under the solidarity funding. It amounted to approximately €14 million for all of our repairs to roads, bridges and flood mitigations. Since the completion of the severe weather flooding, we have analysed our national roads only, regarding which more than €1 million worth of damage was incurred that now must be attended to. While we have received approximately €400,000 in this respect, the balance remains outstanding. As for the local and regional roads, we have an ongoing programme of analysis, in conjunction with our area engineers, to identify and prioritise our programme for 2010. We have been informed by the Department that the restoration programme has been suspended and that this will be the source of the funding. As I stated, the River Suck joint committee is responsible for that river's maintenance. It only carries out minor maintenance works and the two gates on the River Suck at Athleague and Ballinasloe are manned by gatekeepers. However, as the Galway county manager has noted, operation of those gates has not been ongoing for a long time.

During the severe weather events, many families in County Roscommon were in jeopardy and we relocated 40 of them. As I observed previously, a number of families made their own arrangements. There has been no application for relocation within County Roscommon to Roscommon County Council. I believe that all families have now returned to their homes and intend to remain there. While the only area under continual threat is Clonown, liaison with the families affected throughout the event and thereafter indicates they have no desire to be relocated for the present. None of the parties present, including Mr. Eugene Dwyer and me, has any awareness from the ESB regarding advance warning on water levels at the ESB stations in question.

Roscommon County Council's stockpile of salt at the start of the severe weather met our needs until after Christmas Eve. We co-ordinated our efforts to source and buy additional salt with counties Westmeath, Longford and Offaly until such time as the NRA took over in early January. We met our requirements. We would normally do two runs on our national routes, but it was sometimes necessary to revise this as the weather required and do one run.

From a communications point of view, Roscommon County Council set up a website on which all details were placed each day, including press releases of events throughout the county, the status of every road and the emergency lines that were available. We also communicated with our local media. As Galway County Council's manager stated, while this process was effective, much could be learned from the situation and perhaps our communications via press releases and radio interviews could be stepped up a little. None the less, staff were deployed to the emergency and we provided the media with the information as best we could throughout the process.

As regards funding for our roads, we received an amount on par with last year's. None the less, it will not be adequate to address the damage caused by the two events.

Chairman

Have the managers from Longford and Westmeath anything to add?

Mr. Tim Caffrey

Many of the issues have been addressed, but I will deal with those specific to County Longford. The aerial photographs to which Deputy Bannon referred will be made available to the committee. I am glad to hear that other counties have got adequate funding. Longford made a submission of €380,000 for flood damage but we were left €250,000 short. It is a real issue for Longford. This is not a moaning session; it is reality. Our 2010 funding has been cut by €543,000. We are on our own. I welcome the flexibility provided in the funding from the Department of Transport, but I would also welcome more funding because it would allow us to make best use of the flexibility. Longford County Council is down approximately €1.3 million, but the assessment is ongoing, as some of the other managers stated.

There are two problems in respect of the water schemes. New schemes in unfinished housing estates will be dealt with through planning enforcement. If it reaches a stage at which developers walk away, we have the use of the bonds. The old schemes and their pipage pose a problem for us in terms of rehabilitation, but we are getting funding in this respect on an ongoing basis.

In our experience of the involvement of community groups during the difficult times, the volunteerism was fantastic, from local farmers to local builders to local suppliers. A great relationship was built.

Longford had no issues of permanent relocation. During the flooding, we found that people, particularly those in isolated areas, did not want to leave their houses.

As the previous speaker stated in respect of communication, we did quite well generally, but we can always learn. We also learned from each other.

Sometimes, we have a tendency to concentrate on gritting roads. Limerick's county manager, Mr. Gleeson, mentioned footpaths, which were very important. To tell the committee a little story, we were successful in Longford town in that an overseer in our machinery yard made a small gritting machine, towed it behind a four-wheel drive and did all of the footpaths in jig time. This type of innovation was welcome.

Mr. Danny McLoughlin

On Deputy Bannon's points and as far as I am aware, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government does not seem to provide funding for the desilting of rivers. The Deputy referred to developing on flood plains. Areas of Athlone were flooded, including houses that had not been flooded for 100 years. Towns like Athlone are developed on rivers. This is a matter of fact. The flood levels used in development standards dated back to 1954, but these have now effectively been set aside. While difficulties are emerging from the most recent trends in flooding, they must be respected going forward rather than historically.

We will not have any financial deficits arising from the flood measures we needed to take. We made an application for funding for our works and were recouped in full.

We are at 66 gritting runs this year, which is substantial. The average during the previous three years was 35 runs. This element of the maintenance budget will be under severe pressure.

The road damage that has immediately manifested will give rise to a bill of approximately €2.5 million, which will eat into the three-year restoration programme. I am sure further damage will emerge during the coming 12 months and beyond.

The photography will be made available. The OPW also has substantial photographic——

Chairman

A vote has been called in the Dáil. Mr. McLoughlin has one minute.

Mr. Danny McLoughlin

I am happy to leave it there.

Chairman

We will take a final comment from the Limerick manager, but we must attend the vote.

Mr. Edmond Gleeson

My main point is in response to Deputy Bannon's comments on the regulations. They were extended, not made, because of a debate between ourselves and the Minister on the commitment to resources. The new deadline for the making of plans and regulations is 30 April.

Questions on the adequacy of resources in terms of water treatment plants were asked. There is a major resourcing requirement in this regard and we hope the programme will be enough, although there is never really enough. A number of elements are involved. For example, we will be licensed by the EPA, so paying the licence fees must be considered. There are also operational aspects in terms of monitoring and capital costs. There is a substantial requirement as regards funds.

Deputy James Bannon

May I ask two concluding questions?

Chairman

The Deputy only has two seconds.

Deputy James Bannon

What needs to be done?

Chairman

We can discuss this again on the next day.

Deputy James Bannon

It is important that a list of flooding trouble spots be drawn up by every relevant authority. The matter of the counties' bridges needs to be addressed.

Chairman

I will conclude the meeting. It is great to see ladies present, as the groups making presentations normally only comprise gentlemen. This meeting ran exceptionally late because of the volume of work we tried to get through. Perhaps we bit off more than we could chew. I thank everyone for attending. The committee found the meeting informative and it will help us in our work.

The joint committee adjourned at 7.30 p.m. until 3.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 23 March 2010.