Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

I humbly give praise to the members of Mallow Town Council and its staff. I refer to George O'Malley and the lads who put on the oilskins and go out year after year when flooding occurs. There is no fuss. They just get on with the job because that is what they do. They do not want praise for it but that work is worthy of acknowledgement because they do it year in, year out. This year they were out with the demountable walls, working with the area and town engineers, and had those defences up in no time. That must be acknowledged also.

I acknowledge the Minister's statement on the start of phase one in Fermoy but issues remain concerning the clean-up there. At the risk of being parochial, both sides of the river, particularly at Rathealy Road, Francis Street, Thomas Street, Greenhill and Brian Boru Square on the north side, are all badly affected. If some form of aid is to be made available, I ask that those residents be eligible for it, as should the people on the south side, particularly at Ashe Quay, the mart road, O'Neill Crowley Quay, Elbow Lane and Tallow Road, which were all badly hit. It has been said to me that the Fermoy flood was the worst in the past 25 years. That should be on the record because while we agree the works will commence shortly in Fermoy, some damage remains arising from the flood works in that area. I ask the Department to examine the damage that has been done and look favourably on the residents and the businesses in that area.

There is a stoicism among people who are born in the flood, so to speak. They get on with life and do the business, but what seems to have characterised the flood events throughout the rest of the country is that they would not normally occur in those areas. While we will deal with the problems in Fermoy and Mallow, and I visited south Galway at the weekend to see the damage done, it is vital that other parts of the country are examined in the same way as Mallow and Fermoy.

It is important that the flood alleviation works due to be carried out in Fermoy do not compromise the amenity that is the rowing club. There are proposals to carry out works on the weir on the Blackwater in Fermoy but we are concerned they will have a negative impact on the rowing club. I am aware the Minister made some public statements about that in recent days and I hope he will look favourably on the fact that there is a rowing club in the area and that this amenity cannot be compromised in any way.

It is particularly ironic that some members of the Fianna Fáil Party blame the flooding events on bad planning in certain parts of the country. They might revisit some of their statements in that sense.

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