The floods which have wreaked havoc across parts of the country in recent weeks have served to highlight two urgent imperatives. The first is the need to accelerate the construction of coastal defences and other mitigation schemes that have been promised but not delivered. Most priority flood defence projects identified eight years ago have still not entered the planning process. The second is to ensure that new development is adequately future-proofed against flooding. Some of the homes damaged in recent weeks had been recently built, raising serious questions about whether the planning system has been equal to the task.
During the Celtic Tiger boom, local authorities recklessly granted permission for housing on flood plains. The question is whether that culture has persisted into the present day. Figures published in The Irish Times this week reveal that councillors attempted to zone 288 flood-prone sites for development over the past six years, forcing the Office of the Planning Regulator to intervene on 93 separate occasions. In 30 cases, the regulator had to seek a formal ministerial direction to reverse the decision. A further nine cases are currently being processed.
Those figures can be interpreted in different ways. On one reading, they suggest a troubling disregard for flood risk among a cohort of elected representatives, prioritising short-term political considerations such as a landowner’s lobbying, over the safety of future occupants. On another, the figures can be seen as evidence that the system is broadly working, that the regulator is catching bad decisions before they cause lasting harm, and that in most instances councillors ultimately defer to expert advice.
Both readings may contain some truth. The regulator’s willingness to intervene is a positive sign. In the past, a majority of councillors could simply overturn professional advice. That is no longer the case. And crucially, in every instance where the minister was required to issue a direction, the regulator’s decision was upheld.
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But the pattern of certain councils repeatedly resisting the regulator’s recommendations is concerning. Donegal County Council, whose planning history does not inspire confidence, features prominently in the current caseload. Local knowledge has genuine value, and some disputes about flood mapping accuracy are legitimate. But the precautionary principle must prevail where any credible risk exists.
Minister of State Kevin Moran last week warned that homes built on flood plains will receive no publicly funded flood defences. That is a necessary signal. As climate projections point to higher rainfall, rising sea levels and more destructive storms in the decades ahead, the regulations governing development on flood-prone land will need to become more stringent still, not less.
