Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

After a pothole burst a tyre on my way home to Bandon, I eventually got home on Thursday. It was the worst I have ever seen, Bandon town was like Venice, with the river in full flow through the main streets of the town. Other towns in west Cork, Skibbereen and Clonakilty, in particular, were similarly badly affected. There were some silver linings in that there were no deaths or serious injuries, there was unstinting work by the emergency services, and there was a wonderful spirit and neighbourly approach in local communities, where people came out to help people, giving out tea and soup and helping to clean out the muck and mess from the shops. All the rest, however, was dark clouds, smashed hopes, ruined aspirations, destroyed homes, broken and bankrupted businesses and a pall of desolation over large areas of south-west Cork, including many farms.

What can be done? I would like to see an advance on infrastructural projects that can assist with flooding, along the lines of the sewerage scheme in Bandon, that is ready to go to tender. Engineers tell me that will assist because of the separation of flood waters from sewerage waters. I am thinking of flood relief schemes like those in Mallow, which was effective. Could the similar scheme for Bandon be bumped up the list?

We should squeeze the EU solidarity fund. In 2002, when there were serious floods in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and France, the EU reacted immediately. Also, we must establish a decent disaster fund. When I heard about the €10 million fund today, I thought it was for Bandon alone, or possibly Bandon, Skibbereen and Clonakilty. It is not enough, despite the state of the Exchequer, and we should make a decent fund available.

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