Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

I commend whoever proposed the taking of this business because it makes a change.

We have all been used to floods. The people in Athlone have experienced them for many years and 1954 is the year against which all subsequent floods in Athlone are benchmarked. As a result of the flooding that has taken place in Athlone on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and today, the water is now 3 ft. above the high water mark of the 1954 floods. I was out today with a friend of mine who spoke to me of the sheer terror that has gripped the town. The flooding has spread from Parnell Square into The Park, Deerpark Road, Wolfe Tone Terrace, Clonown Road, The Strand, Carrick O'Brien Road, Golden Island and numerous other areas, and the River Shannon is still rising.

Deputy Joanna Tuffy correctly pointed out that floods are a natural phenomenon, if one wants to take that perspective, but they are not natural where they subsume houses and leave people terror stricken. I saw the abject misery and sadness on people's faces today as they were washed out of their homes. Their Christmas cards and Christmas boxes for their children were all floating in the water. They cannot get in or out of their houses. The sheds in which their central heating boilers are located in the back of older houses are completely flooded and those central heating systems are now useless. I do not know how people will cope.

I welcome the humanitarian assistance. It is a good initiative. Community welfare officers are good at their jobs. The Red Cross, on the last occasion, made a great input and distributed relief in a very professional fashion. Perhaps there could be a marriage of community welfare officers and the Red Cross to distribute relief.

I ask that the Minister, Deputy John Gormley, and Minister of State, Deputy Martin Mansergh, visit Athlone on Friday. I would welcome them and bring them around the town and show them how it has been affected by the floods.

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