Wednesday 20 August 2008

Flooding in Dublin and Ireland

Do you remember the flooding in Dublin?

And in the outlying "commuter towns" such as Carlow and Dunboyne? As flooding goes, you could say it's biblical, only it is firmly rooted in fact. The authorities say it is all due to global warming - nothing to do with them, you see. Mind you, it's also possible that our Gombeen powers-that-be not clearing the drains, and their building-boom-era (RIP) habit of granting planning permission to their construction mates to build on flood plains might also be contributing factors.

Sure, the rain has been exceptionally heavy this year (oh... and last year), but this has happened before, and will happen again. Those who have not been roaming the Earth as long as Gombeen Man might think current "weather events" are without precedent, but not so. The years of 1985 and 1986, for example, were also washouts. And don't forget the denizens of Ringsend and Ballsbridge involuntarily sharing their homes with the Dodder on separate occasions in the not-too-distant past.

And then there is Dunboyne. Builders were granted permission to construct estates in and around that town on land that was known to be liable to flooding. Can you imagine that? Gombeen Man knows of one unlucky homeowner whose house has been flooded three times in the past seven years.

So, any potential home purchasers who don't want to dip their toes in the water could do worse than study this useful Office of Public Works website, and check that the home they've been dreaming off all these years does not come with a driveway mooring facility.

http://www.floods.ie/



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