Debate contribution: Flooding and Lack of Recovery Actions: South Down

Debate contribution by Mr Colin McGrath on 13 January 2026.

MLA

Mr Colin McGrath

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

13 January 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Flooding and Lack of Recovery Actions: South Down

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5316401

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank my constituency colleague for securing the Adjournment debate. It is really important that we give a voice to the numerous residents and businesses in locations across South Down who feel isolated and left behind and feel that they get no assistance in times of flooding, which is when they need it most. People in Downpatrick were told that lessons would be learned following the devastating floods in November 2023. A report was commissioned, findings were published and assurances were given, yet here we are, more than two years on, and nothing has changed materially for people on the ground. There is no meaningful preventative action, no visible works and no reassurance that the next series of storms will not force water into homes, businesses and streets once again. As Andy mentioned, just before Christmas, we saw the water starting to rise. You can sense that levels of concern among the business community and local residents are starting to rise. That turns to anger, and people ask, "What is being done?". They ask what has been done that is materially different to stop that water from getting into their businesses and causing exactly the same problems. A report without delivery is not progress; it is a holding exercise. The people of Downpatrick know that all too well. They also know all too well that, despite press releases about outline business cases, nothing has materially changed, and we do not know when it will change. That is the reality. In fact, in a response from the Department to a question for written answer, there is reference to an outline business case

"for the potential flood alleviation scheme in Downpatrick".

The scheme is not confirmed or funded; it is just a maybe. How does that help our business community to plan? How does that help organisations such as Downpatrick and County Down Railway, which lost fortunes in money, investment and volunteer hours? It saw all of that wash away in front of it. An outline business case is "expected" by spring 2026: there is an awful lot of ambiguity in that. The contrast with Newcastle could not be starker. Following flooding in 2020, it saw a flood alleviation scheme designed, funded and delivered in a short time. Fast-forward to October 2025, however, when flooding in Sunningdale Park forced water violently down roads, tearing up surfaces and cascading towards Tullybrannigan Road and Shan Slieve Drive. What followed was not action; in many cases, it was agencies arguing with each other. One Minister said that it was Northern Ireland Electricity's responsibility; another said that it was down to DFI Rivers; and somebody else said that it was a Forest Service issue. Meanwhile, residents were left watching the water rise again. That is not coordination of organisations; it is an abdication of responsibility by Departments wanting to pass it on to somebody else. The community is left to pick up the pieces and be the front line. We have seen that with the Newcastle regional community resilience groups, when, on many occasions, they have to do the heavy lifting because the Departments are too busy blaming each other. Flooding in Killowen in 2023 triggered a landslide that closed a lane of the road for months on end. The reality is that the repair work took only a few weeks to complete, but the local residents had to wait months and months for it to be done. The road was partially closed, causing disruption, isolation and real frustration among local people as the delay to the recovery became another form of neglect. In Warrenpoint and Rostrevor, storm Bram left entire towns impassable, with roads cut off, communities stranded and, once again, people asking the same question: "How did we allow ourselves to end up so unprepared?". What a dire picture. We know that climate change is real and is driving more intense and unpredictable weather. That reality does not excuse inaction but demands urgency. Preventative work should be under way already: drainage, gully clearing, culvert clearing, river management and work on woodland and land use. Our planning sector make decisions that can contribute to flooding locally, rather than preventing it. All of that must be joined up and properly funded. What preventative work is being delivered now? I am not asking what is being studied or scoped; I am asking what is being delivered. What confidence can the public have that lessons have truly been learned and that there will be fixes for the problems? Right now, every time rain falls heavily, people in Downpatrick, Newcastle, Killowen and Warrenpoint — not to mention the other areas — brace themselves for the worst. The honest truth is that, while flooding may be driven by climate change, the damage that it causes in South Down is driven by political decisions by the Executive on whether or not to act.

812 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:18 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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