WEATHER FORCES 67 FAMILIES TO BECOME ‘CLIMATE REFUGEES’

IRISH families are becoming ‘climate refugees’ and being forced to move from their homes because they live in locations that are vulnerable to floods and the effects of global warming.

Flooding events and climate change has created 67 Irish climate refugee families who have asked the Government to move them to higher ground. Climate Change Minister Denis Naughten said the figures show we are not doing enough to protect the environment.

The 67 families come from 19 different counties. All of the applications relate to the flooding events in late 2015 and early 2016 that devastated the Shannon region and left families and farmers submerged for weeks.

Homes approved under the scheme will be demolished and the land they stand on returned to agricultural use. The total cost of the scheme is not yet known. The 67 properties do not include those affected by the recent serious flooding event in Co Donegal where a further 59 families registered themselves with the local authority as being displaced by rising waters. Mr Naughten said we need to see a global change in attitudes towards the climate.

“Nine people (globally) every minute of every day are being moved from their homes because of climate change,” he said. “That includes 67 families in this country who have applied for relocation from their homes now because of flooding.

“We have climate refugees in this country but, for the vast majority of people, to try and engage them with that (climate change), is very challenging.

“Climate change is something that is happening incrementally over a slow and a long period of time and it is very hard to engage the public in something that may, or might, happen in 20, 30 and 40 years’ time but, in fact, it is happening here and now.”

The Office of Public Works (OPW) is responsible for the Government’s flood relocation scheme. It will be contacting families in the coming weeks who have gone through the first stage of an assessment process carried out in conjunction with local authorities.

“These homeowners will be invited to meet with the OPW to discuss the details of the scheme and may be invited to formally apply for the scheme,” said an OPW spokesperson.

The OPW works closely with local authorities to assess future flooding risks and what measures can be taken to protect homes before identifying families to be relocated.