Taoiseach Enda Kenny has on Thursday defended himself against Opposition criticism that he has delayed for almost a month before visiting the areas and towns worst-affected by severe flooding this winter.

Mr Kenny and several Government colleagues spent several hours on Thursday morning aboard an Air Corps helicopter surveying the extent of the flooding throughout the State.

On Thursday afternoon he was visiting residents of areas badly affected by flooding in the Shannon basin, around Athlone and in rural Co Westmeath.

Asked why it had taken him almost four weeks to make the first site visits, Mr Kenny said he had visited areas in his own constituency of Mayo which had been affected by flooding.

Numerous visits

He said his Government colleagues had also made numerous visits to flooded areas.

“I have been to Crossmolina, Ballina and Foxford. I have had daily briefings from the [national emergency] co-ordination committee. I am in constant contact with the relevant Ministers. There have been many visits by Ministers,” he said.

Mr Kenny said besides his visit on Thursday, he wished in coming days to visit a number of other locations which had suffered flood damage.

The Taoiseach departed Baldonnel Airport on Thursday morning for an aerial survey by helicopter from Co Leitrim, mainly along the River Shannon to Co Limerick.

“I have an opportunity to see the scale of the flooding throughout the country from Athlone, right down to Parteen and Ardnacrusha, and Ennis, Gort and Slieve Aughty, as far [north] as Carrick-on-Shannon.

‘Countryside is saturated’

“Clearly the countryside is saturated. There are thousands of locations where water has rested and has not drained away.

“Clearly there are very significant problems in some urban areas and there are serious problems in areas throughout the country where people are isolated.”

Mr Kenny said the flooding crisis would be the first item on the Government’s agenda at its first meeting of 2016 next Tuesday.

He said he will call all agencies with responsibilities in the River Shannon catchment area to a meeting in Dublin next week where options for remedial work will be expedited.

He said the plan which has been put in place has been working very well and the various schemes and responses have been co-ordinating smoothly.

There were some cases of dwellings in rural areas which had become “completely isolated and marooned”.

There was a need to explore drainage or engineering works to make them accessible, he added.