Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

I was asked to raise this issue by Seamus Rogers, who lives in Donegal, near Derrybeg and Bunbeg and who is a former Donegal county councillor and a very active member of the Labour Party. I spoke to him yesterday and today about the flooding that affected Derrybeg and Bunbeg. He told me a lot of damage was done to the area. A number of bridges were swept away and road surfaces, business premises, houses and a local church were damaged.

The local library was housed in an old church and a number of book stocks were destroyed. There is a picture in the Irish Independent of the damage to the library, which shows that a great deal of damage was done to books. A lot of public property was damaged, according to the Irish Independent. Access to some local households was destroyed. People have been affected and families' homes have been water damaged. It is lucky nobody was badly injured or worse.

Deputy Dinny McGinley also raised this matter. When I spoke to him earlier, he was on his way home to assess the damage. From newspaper reports, I know he wanted an audit of the damage to be carried out and for a Minister to visit the area to assess it. The Minister responsible will know from the reports and from their local representatives that there has been damage. I understand the Donegal county manager was on Radio na Gaeltachta today and told the interviewer that while Donegal County Council can carry out temporary repairs, for example, to the bridges that have been destroyed, there would only be funding for stop-gap measures. He said funding from Government was needed if further measures were to be implemented.

What funding will be made available to Donegal County Council to carry out the works and repair the damage that has been caused by this flooding and when will it be provided? When will the decisions be taken with regard to this funding? Obviously, the council will need to know in order to make its own decisions on its response to the flooding and the damage caused.

Has the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Hanafin, information at this stage with regard to funding that would be available and individuals who have suffered damage in their homes and so on because of the flooding? I would appreciate an update in this regard.

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