A senior cabinet minister has said Government is in favour of Met Eireann providing more "localised" warnings for specific areas in the event of future floods or storms.
Minister for Public Expenditure and Fianna Fail TD Jack Chambers was speaking before two cabinet meetings on Tuesday in response to Storm Chandra.
These meetings will include an incorporeal cabinet meeting to discuss increases to emergency funds for affected businesses and groups, and a second meeting on all related matters - including Met Eireann weather alerts - with Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tanaiste Simon Harris and ministers relevant to the storm response.
Speaking on RTE's The Week in Politics programme before the meetings, Minister Chambers said while Government is aware of the value of Met Eireann's county-based yellow, orange and red weather warnings, changes could be made in the aftermath of Storm Chandra.
He said this could include more "localised" weather warnings if needed, saying: "They can provide generalised warnings, but it's not always specific and they don't always have all the data for localised and regional warnings and the hydraulic information which comes from that.
"But we want to work in the absence of any storm or flooding or weather event, we need to review the wider operations whether that's the national emergency response or with Met Eireann to ensure we best respond back to that."
Speaking on the same programme, Sinn Fein's spokesperson on social protection, rural and community development Louise O Reilly said that while Government says responses are "hampered by the system, they are the system".
She said that despite what is being said now, in her view what has happened in recent days was "not just preventable but predictable" and that the "harrowing" situation for many affected people could have been avoided.
During the same discussion, Labour's housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan also said it is unacceptable that "Enniscorthy in Wexford has been flooded 13 times" in recent years, and that it is obvious certain locations are going to flood.
Cabinet to meet over Storm Chandra floods response
Minister Chambers's comments follow similar remarks by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris, Housing Minister James Brown and others in recent days, and come before cabinet holds two meetings on Tuesday to discuss the Storm Chandra floods response.
The Taoiseach, Tanaiste and ministers relevant to the response will discuss all flood-related matters, including the existing Met Eireann weather warning system.
A separate incorporeal meeting of all cabinet ministers will also take place to discuss and sign off on changes to emergency flood funding supports which were first reported on Friday evening.
They include increasing the emergency funding help - known as the Emergency Humanitarian Funding Scheme - for affected businesses and groups, including voluntary and community groups, from €20,000 to €100,000, in addition to a €5,000 immediate payment.
This funding is specifically for groups and businesses which have been damaged by flooding but which cannot receive or do not already have flood insurance, and which employ fewer than 50 people.
An Emergency Response Payment funding scheme is also open for individual households affected in Wexford, Wicklow, Dublin, Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Louth and Monaghan, which is based on case by case assessments of each individual's circumstances.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Coordination Group met this afternoon with its effort is focused on the humanitarian response to the flooding caused by Storm Chandra.
No further flooding is expected today but the group is being kept up to date on weather forecasts for the coming days, after Met Éireann issued a rain warning for eight counties tomorrow and warned of the risk of further flooding.
