GOVERNMENT MINISTERS WILL this morning be updated on work being done to better share information between Met Éireann, local authorities and the Office of Public Works (OPW) to better respond to flooding events. 

Housing Minister James Browne is understood to have pushed for improvements in the identification and communication of flood event risk across the country.

In particular, he has focused on the need to amplify information around the identification of river and coastal flood event risk so that businesses and families can make timely responses.

Met Éireann, as an agency under the Department of Housing, is proposing that expertise and data belonging to it, the OPW and local authorities be pooled in order to immediately improve public information services. 

The OPW publish flood maps, which inform emergency planning, while coordinated response to flood events at local level is led by individual local authorities.

It is understood that Met Éireann, the national forecaster, intends to maximise and improve how and when to issue flood forecast information so that it is made available to the public as well as critical response agencies such as local authorities and the emergency services.

Following the flooding from Storm Chandra in the South East of the country in January of this year, Taoiseach Micheál Martin conceded that the weather warning system was in need of reform.

Work is currently ongoing across government, the OPW and Met Éireann to develop a fully operational National Flood Forecasting and Warning Service.

Age restrictions online

Elsewhere at cabinet today, Media and Communications Minister Patrick O’Donovan will update his colleagues on the conference on online child safety, which will take place on Thursday and Friday of this week at Dublin Castle as part of Ireland’s EU Presidency. 

As part of the conference, the minister will host a private meeting of EU ministers to discuss potential age restrictions on social media.

Speaking to The Journal last month, European Commissioner Michael McGrath ruled out an outright age-based ban for children using social media. 

McGrath said it is likely there will be a “graduated approach, where you have potentially certain settings off by default, you make parental control easier, that for certain age bands you have, you have different depths to the regulation and the safeguard”.

Citizenship changes

Meanwhile, the main item to be discussed at cabinet today will be proposed changes to Ireland’s citizenship requirements. 

As reported earlier this week, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan is seeking to make it more difficult to become an Irish citizen. 

Currently, a person must be resident in the country for five years to be granted citizenship, but this is set to change to eight years. A language test is also set to be introduced.