THE GOVERNMENT is to bring forward the publication of a climate-change adaptation strategy in the light of recent flooding in several parts of the State, Minister for the Environment John Gormley said yesterday.
Speaking following a visit to Carlow, the area worst affected by heavy rain over the weekend, Mr Gormley said he had asked his officials to complete the strategy by the new year, months ahead of schedule.
He said the severity of the weather and flooding of recent weeks had underlined the urgency of having the strategy in place as soon as possible.
"We are going to see more flash flooding and more storms. We need to plan accordingly," he told The Irish Times.
"There will be a 20 per cent increase in precipitation in the future. There will be increases in wind speed and more storms. When it does rain it will be more heavily."
Officials at the Department of the Environment have been working on the strategy since late last year. It will set out responses to the more severe and extreme weather patterns expected to occur in the future and their impact on drainage systems, flood plains and coastal defences.
The strategy will also propose substantial changes in forestry and agriculture practices.
Mr Gormley said climatic changes would involve droughts during the summer months. The torrential rainfall during August seemed to suggest the contrary but the evidence was also pointing to severe water shortages in future. Water conservation would become a major issue.
The survival of some species of deciduous tree native to Ireland could also be threatened, he said.
During his visit to Carlow yesterday, where the water ran to six feet in some parts of the town after the Barrow burst its banks, Mr Gormley said he would publish new planning guidelines "within weeks" specifically designed to prevent flooding.
"Any future significant development will have to carry out a flood-risk assessment as part of the planning process. The guidelines will also oblige county and local development plans to include full flood-risk assessments. "It essentially means the end of any major construction on flood plains."
Mr Gormley said he had given a commitment to his Green Party colleague Mary White TD that a flood defence contract for Carlow would proceed "as quickly as possible". Ms White is based in Co Carlow.
The two main Opposition parties dismissed Mr Gormley's visit to Carlow and his announcement of planning guidelines as political stunts that would have little impact.
Labour's spokeswoman on the environment, Joanna Tuffy, accused the Government of "long-fingering" flood relief works for Carlow town.
She said the scheme had been promised many years ago, but had yet to be implemented.
Fine Gael TD Olwyn Enright said the Government's response to recent flooding had been "totally inadequate" and would make no difference to people in affected areas.
"The lack of urgency from the Government is shocking when so many homes, businesses and communities are in danger of being washed out."
While rainfall amounts yesterday were smaller than in the previous day, a threat of further flooding in a number of areas remained, with Met Éireann forecasting showers, some of them heavy, for today.
"Overall it will be changeable, but the rainfall will not be as heavy or torrential as we have seen," said a spokesman.
Roads remained flooded last night in several counties including Carlow, Tipperary, Galway, Laois and Offaly.
The Irish Farmers' Association said grain growers were facing "grave difficulties" because of the weather, and could face huge losses this year unless the weather improved within the next week.
Thousands of homes have had their phones cut as a result of the heavy rains. Eircom said nearly 4,300 faults were reported and resolved over the weekend, but heavy rainfall and flooding across the country were leading to more faults.
