Madam, – John Kennedy (December 2nd) makes the charge that since entering Government the Green Party has not put in place measures to reduce damage caused by the current flooding. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Since entering Government the Green Party has taken the first steps in ending Ireland’s dire record of rezoning on flood plains, including vetoing of zoning decisions in Monaghan and introducing strict new guidelines on flood management.
The Planning and Development Bill, currently working its way through the Oireachtas, makes specific reference to the impact of climate change in future planning. Contrary to popular belief, such rezoning has not ended with the recession, and the Greens are now leading a broad programme to “dezone” past decisions.
As Mr Kennedy states, much of the damage was done before the Green Party entered Government. However, what he does not point out is that the damage was minimised by Green Party councillors since the party first gained council seats in 1991. Without their efforts the situation today would be worse.
Their record over the past 19 years, and the record of Minister for Environment John Gormley since 2007, stands in stark contrast to the dodgy planning championed by Labour, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. – Yours, etc,