A GENERAL election candidate has accused the State of being “incapable of strategic planning to protect families and businesses from this near-annual misery”.
James Gaffney, who is Green Party candidate for Limerick City says that climate change means that storms like Storm Frank will happen with greater frequency and intensity.
“Floods cannot be avoided, but Ireland can certainly cope better”, he told the Limerick Post.
He added that for many years, maps showing where floods are likely to occur have been available to local authorities but added that these warnings “have often been ignored by the councils when they grant planning permission. Human construction, such as houses, industrial estates and shopping centres have all happened on the Shannon flood plain”.
”It is unforgivable that climate change and flooding is not taken into account when planning our infrastructure and communities.
“Afforestation can help – trees can mitigate water movements. Studies show that thanks to their roots, the soil under trees can absorb 67 times more water than soil under grass fields. We in the Green Party support the planting of forests bordering rivers and lakes to protect water quality and assist in managing flood risks.
“Before longer term preventative measures are taken, we will continue to have to pour money into reactive measures, such as flood defences and barriers and clean-up operations. We will continue to need to provide emergency relief funds for residents”, he concluded.
