Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to thank the Leader for organising a debate on the recent flooding incidents last Thursday week. I thought it was a very suitable and informative debate, although I would have preferred if the Minister, Deputy Hogan, or the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, had been in attendance but the Minister of State, Deputy Costello, who was in attendance, certainly took our views on board. The flooding that occurred after Christmas was a west of Ireland issue, initially affecting County Clare the worst and then its neighbouring counties. However, this is now a national issue. It requires a national response. All areas along our rivers or the shore have now been affected.

We saw many news reports last night of areas of the country, including the Leader's city of Waterford, that have been destroyed by flooding. We now need an emergency national response - a short-term, medium-term and long-term strategy - to deal with this new reality. There are people in Limerick city, Clare and other counties who are now homeless and who have no insurance as a result of what has happened. Flood insurance is not available to many people and damage caused as a result is not covered by many of the insurance companies operating in this country. The Government will have to step in and repair these people's homes and make emergency funding available in order that they can rebuild their homes and move back into them.

In addition, the Government will have to put short-term measures in place to ensure that those houses are not flooded again. It will have to come up with a long-term strategy to deal with the new reality of the threat of flooding throughout this country. That will have to be done in association with the European Union because we simply do not have the money to do the necessary work to prevent a repeat of what has happened. Now that it is a national issue, a further debate should be held on it in this House. Hopefully, we will see many more Members contribute to that debate than contributed to the earlier one when the Leader gets around to organising it.