HARTE OF THE MATTER: 'Does Inishowen need helicopter visits from the Taoiseach?'

The headlines coming out of Donegal over the past ten days have been frightening for many reasons.

Had the floods been more severe we would be talking about how many deaths there were and who is to blame for such a catastrophic event. The blame can certainly be laid at the atrocious weather that hit the Inishowen peninsula over a horrible night last week.

Will Taoiseach Leo Varadkar return to Dublin and let Donegal sort itself out? Maybe pay an odd visit to the area for a photo opportunity?

Or will he get serious  and design a solution that means proper planning and the existence of a creditable lifestyle not threatened by floods?  Time will tell and his actions in the near future must be monitored and the pressure must be kept on government to get permanent solutions to a frightening experience.

Donegal County Council must also look at the granting of planning permission in an area that has had flooding problems in the past. The council has a duty of care to the residents of different areas that were not used for building in the not too distant past.

Issues at Inch lake, which some think contributed to the flooding on the southern and eastern parts of Lough Reilly, go back to to the middle of the last century. The road  from Burnfoot to the lake is known as the Watery road. Surely a clue is in the name.

On Tuesday night with a high tide and unprecedented rainfall, disaster lurked.

It will take time and money to stop the erosion of roads which are sinking into ditches. Time and money - not helicopter visits from the Taoiseach for the camera.

Donegal got a particular bad hit but there seems to be no solution to this ongoing problem and as time passes less attention will be paid by the powers in Dublin. We have had a lot of words but little action so far and I fear that this will be the case for a long time

Unless there is a concerted level of action taken soon then Inishowen will be a story for history books.