Sandbags, sympathy no match for floods
Environment Minister Alan Kelly will bring a memo to Cabinet tomorrow which will seek to address the 'infrastructure issues' causing devastating flooding in many communities along the River Shannon.
Which begs the question: what has the Coalition been doing for the past five years to prevent and minimise risks to life, property and businesses from a river that has been flooding at regular intervals for centuries?
It can hardly be the case that such devastation was unforeseen - the last major flooding along the Shannon was in 2009. And we know only too well the infrastructure resources and other issues involved as the management of the Shannon, the longest river in Ireland, has been a contentious issue for as long as it has been flowing and bursting its banks.
