Flood damage: legacy of Fianna Fáil's cosy relationship with developers

Martin Ferris

THE extent of flood damage in housing estates across the 26 Counties is a legacy of Fianna Fáil’s cosy relationship with developers throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Sinn Féin Environment spokesperson Martin Ferris TD said.
He said the Government should rehouse or compensate those people whose homes were built on flood plains and have now been ruined by floodwater.
The Kerry North TD said:
“The cosy relationship between Fianna Fáil and developers throughout the 1980s and 1990s saw housing estates spring up in the most unsuitable places such as the flood plains where so many houses have now been ruined by floodwater.
“Concern for the safety of the homes being built and those living in them meant nothing as developers lusted after massive profits in an over-inflated housing market and in this they were facilitated by their friends in Fianna Fáil.”
Martin Ferris said that, as well as rehousing or compensating flood victims, any housing developments taking place on flood plains should be bulldozed and their planning permission rescinded.