AND YOU’RE TELLING me that on top of all of this we have to watch the Six Nations as well? Jesus Christ, is there no end to the agony?

After easing off for a few days, the deluge resumed in earnest towards the end of this week, taking us very firmly into two-of-every-animal territory. 

The week began with Taoiseach Micheál Martin visiting the badly affected town of Enniscorthy to trudge around in his wellies, survey the damage, and speak comfort to those who have suffered — many of whom are now asking that the flood relief payments be expedited. 

Unfortunately, comfort is not exactly Micheál Martin’s bag these days. What he actually ended up telling those whose homes and businesses had been flooded was: “[Flood relief schemes] are complex. I’m not going to try to pretend that we can wave a magic wand and just deliver them. That would be wrong to do.” Okay, well, thanks for stopping by. Be sure to let us know the next time you can’t do anything to help. 

Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m confident in saying that nobody has ever actually asked Micheál Martin to solve anything using the magic wand method. It seems to me that what the public expects is some sense of preparedness, and if not preparedness, then a sense of urgency to meet the dire conditions now faced by dozens of homes and businesses. A tall order, of course, for the Irish state to be prepared for rain of all things, but people can be demanding like that when their homes get destroyed. 

Still, irrational as the electorate can be, the mention of a magic wand only........

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