People whose homes are repeatedly flooded should have the option of asking the State to buy them out, Minister for Housing James Browne has said.
The Minister said complex and expensive flood-relief schemes were not always the best solution and alternatives needed to be considered.
He said some people in his hometown of Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, had asked if they could have help to move after the latest flooding to hit the area which has suffered repeatedly in recent years.
“We’re certainly encouraging the OPW (Office of Public Works) to look at it as one option and to engage with local people,” he said.
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A Voluntary Homeowners Relocation Scheme was set up in 2017 to provide financial help to householders to buy or build elsewhere if their homes were at risk of repeat flooding and no viable engineering solution was available to protect them.
The OPW, which runs the scheme, said it was a once-off measure and 25 homeowners had availed of it while a further three were still going through the process.
The average payment to those who had concluded the process was €280,000
Browne said the idea was “something that probably is not looked at enough in terms of options”.
“These flood projects are very expensive and sometimes there are cheaper ways of doing it,” he said.
“In terms of purchasing homes, I think where that is the most cost-effective and also something that could work for the local community, that should be an option.
“I can speak to my own hometown of Enniscorthy. You have a number of homes there that are just going to consistently flood and it is going to be a very expensive project to protect those homes.
“I’m not saying they definitely should be bought out, but I think what could happen there is engagement with the homeowners with a view to see what would work best for them.
“We can’t simply look at what is the big, complex solution here. We have to be innovative.
“Some of the people living in my own hometown have asked about it and we’re certainly encouraging the OPW to look at it as one option and to engage with local people.”
The Minister reminded elected members of local authorities that bad zoning decisions could endanger lives.
Responding to a report in The Irish Times that the planning regulator had to intervene to stop 288 parcels of land being zoned for development in flood plains, he said councillors must adopt the precautionary principle.
“When we build on flood plains, not only does it put people’s lives at risk and their houses at risk, it actually causes additional flooding,” he said.
“Also, you end up with additional costs in terms of trying to protect those homes from flooding.”
Browne also responded to a separate Irish Times report that no Government department or agency had agreed to be responsible for a planned new public warning system for flooding and other emergencies.
He would not say which body he believed should be in charge, but did say Met Éireann as the forecaster and the OPW as the flood-risk manager were the two “critical pieces”, while the Office of Emergency Planning would oversee the plan.
“That [office] is going to oversee to ensure that everything is working closely together, that there are no gaps, that there is synergy and people have a very clear understanding of what their roles are,” he said.
“It will happen. The Taoiseach is determined that this happens and is delivered and that’s what we’re working on. There is work to be done on delivery.”
