Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Many areas of our country were badly affected by the recent storm weather. My home town of Youghal, County Cork was no different. Anyone who has visited the town will undoubtedly remember the boardwalk at Claycastle Beach, which ran the length of the beach and linked the car parks at Youghal front strand and Claycastle. This boardwalk has proven popular with local residents and tourists and could be used to gain access to the beach through summer and winter. It allowed people to admire the spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean and views of Capel Island. The boardwalk was unique for many reasons. It was disability and buggy friendly and thus allowed people of all abilities and ages to appreciate this resource. It was also cycle-friendly for small children whose parents might enjoy a walk along the boardwalk.

While the boardwalk survived two previous storms in August and December 2012, unfortunately it was destroyed in the recent storms that battered our coastline between last December and early January and now requires to be rebuilt. This is a serious blow, particularly for a town like Youghal where tourism plays such an important role in its economy. The boardwalk was the centre piece of Youghal's tourism industry. I am glad to say that the people of Youghal town are not taking this lying down. There is a strong commitment literally to picking up the pieces and rebuilding the boardwalk. At a special council meeting, it was agreed unanimously that the boardwalk be rebuilt as a matter of priority. We hope, with the help of the OPW, that it will be open and fully functioning by the summer. It had been planned to extend the boardwalk by a further 2,000 metres, connecting Youghal to Redbarn. This will eventually form part of the national coastal walking route. I welcome the commitment of the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, to make funds available under the minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme. This will prove to be a lifeline for many communities, including my own in Youghal.

Funds must be red-tape free and should be released as soon as possible to the councils which need the funding so badly.

Local authorities, which have been trying to rebuild their coastal towns, have been starved of funding by consecutive Governments. The funds are simply not available to repair the terrible damage left behind by the recent storms. It is estimated, according to the engineer's report, that the cost to reinstate the boardwalk will be in the region of €90,000. I realise the Minister State, Deputy Brian Hayes, has written to city and county managers calling for applications. The applications, in particular that of Youghal Town Council, should have a speedy turnaround. This will ensure that works can commence and be completed on time and that our boardwalk will be open for the tourism season.

I can confirm that Cork County Council sent in its application today to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government for all the areas affected. I imagine I speak for all Deputies from Cork when I say that I hope it will receive a positive and speedy reply.

The storms can be attributed to global warming and climate change. We have seen in recent times major changes in weather patterns, for example, short intense bursts of heat, rainfall, storms and cold weather, as well as rainfall, storms and flooding focused in small areas. This is all related to climate change. What we want to avoid is a continuing spiral of repairing damage caused by storms and flooding. We have no wish to be revisiting these debates at more regular intervals. The root cause is climate change. Climate change is caused by human activity and only by changing that behaviour can we impact positively on our environment. I appeal to the Government to act quickly and introduce the long-awaited climate change Bill.

After almost three years in office, the Government has failed to produce a Bill to tackle climate change. The Government has published, circulated and debated the heads of the Bill, but it is high time it published the legislation and let the real debate begin. I offer one word of caution. Any Bill which genuinely attempts to deal with climate change must contain legally-binding science-based targets for 2050, legally binding five-year carbon budgets and an independent expert authority.

I am pleased funding has been made available, but let us get that money to where it is needed as quickly as possible.

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