Ms Gillian Powell:

I am coming at it from a human perspective. In many ways the world is divided into people who have been flooded and those who have not. To set the scene, I would like members to imagine that when they go home this evening that as they are about to turn on their light in the kitchen they are wading through 4 ft. of water, because that is the reality. Then their lights go out and they have no electricity.

In researching for today’s meeting I discovered that in 2001 at the National Hydrology Seminar, lecturers Michael Bruen and Fasil Gebre made a special plea that the special problems of flood insurance in Ireland would be recognised and addressed. That was at an OPW hydrology forum 12 years ago, yet nothing has been done. What that means for people like us and thousands of others in Bandon and many other places around the country – more than 400 places – is huge anxiety. It is difficult to communicate the deep frustration at the lack of action.

In the final analysis, if people like us are flooded again we will be reliant on the Society of St. Vincent de Paul or the kindness of our neighbours. In 2009, many small businesses such as mine and others in Bandon and Skibbereen had reserves but now we do not, nor do we have any insurance. Other countries do not do things like this. We are one of the few countries who do nothing at all for people who are flooded. There is no catastrophic cover and very little help is provided by any agency, apart from the kindness of neighbours and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

From my perspective and that of many others, inaction is not an option. I hope the committee will look on the issue as a political opportunity to do the right thing. There has been basic neglect over the years but it is on the desk of the new guys now. The committee is great. It will help us. I hope something good will come out of it. The committee could use this opportunity and the pilot proposal on which Mr. O’Donovan will elaborate now to provide a basic catastrophic cover for Irish people. Under the European Convention on Human Rights, everyone has a right to shelter. Therefore, it is the committee’s duty to ensure that when someone’s home is destroyed that there are mechanisms in place to restore them and our livelihood quickly. None of us wants to be reliant on the State. We want to get on and do our business and keep this country going. That is what we do in our day jobs. It is usually done with insurance. If people have an up or a down in their lives they have insurance but when one does not have it, something must be done. Many people ask me every day when I walk up the town to run for election as a flood candidate. That reflects the huge concern people have that they will be flooded again. Unfortunately, the concern is backed up by science with global warming and other factors. It is time to show leadership, bite the bullet and do something. The committee will gain the gratitude of thousands of what I could call floating voters whose main concern is survival in the face of a flood catastrophe.