Minister for the environment John Gormley said that he had asked officials to complete the strategy by the end of this year.

Speaking after a visit to Carlow, which was under five foot of water, Mr Gormley said the severity of weather and flooding highlighted the importance of having a strategy in place.

“We are going to see more flash flooding and more storms. We need to plan accordingly,” he told The Irish Times.

“There will be a 20% increase in precipitation in the future. There will be increases in wind speed and more storms.

“When it does rain it will be more heavily.”

Mr Gormley also promised to fast track Euro 30m in flood relief aid.

The World Bank recently released its own climate change adaptation strategy for cities around the world, noting that flooding was likely to the biggest danger faced by coastal and riverside areas.

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