Noel O'Flynn (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

No one was injured or worse last weekend in Cork or in any other part of the country, thank God. I commend the way the people of Cork have managed in this difficult time without water and will continue to manage until Cork City Council restores supply. I do not recall ever in my life seeing rain such as fell last Thursday and Friday. It was unprecedented in the history of the city and the country and in Cork county as well. I recall flooding in Parnell Place, Oliver Plunkett Street and lower lying parts of Cork city, but never to the extent that we saw last weekend.

When the waters were released from the dam at Iniscarra, they completely submerged the waterworks at the Lee Road. I agree with Deputy Simon Coveney that the ESB had no option but to release those waters as they were about to go over the dam. If they had gone over the dam, they would have been uncontrolled whereas in the way that they were released they were controlled. The waterworks in Cork city have been in place for 250 years and have never been flooded or caused any difficulty. This event was a first in 250 years and I hope that we will not see something like it again.

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