“If the Irish lived in the Netherlands and the Dutch lived in Ireland then Ireland would be a thriving efficient nation while the Netherlands would be swallowed up by the North Sea.”Since the flooding in the Netherlands in the 1950s the Dutch engaged in massive works to manage all aspects of water management both coastal and inland waterways. A junior ministry Rijkswaterstaat is the sole body responsible for all activities relating to waterway and coastal management. But in Ireland (where we are consistently attempting to reinvent the wheel) how many bodies persist in having a say in the management of our rivers? Today the people of The Netherlands can go about their daily business without fear of flooding unlike their Irish counterparts. Surely it makes sense to engage the Dutch (our friends) to help get us out of the mess we consistently find ourselves in annually.

Source: Irish Examiner February 26, 2020 00:00 UTC