Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

I thank the Minister for her detailed reply. I concur with her remarks about the people and statutory agencies who worked extremely hard to assist people in these adverse circumstances. I sympathise with householders who suffered huge losses and have been displaced from their homes and with the small and medium sized business and farming community. I have first-hand evidence of what happened in Athlone, Longford, Cavan, Carrick-on-Shannon and so on. Huge devastation has been inflicted on households and small and medium sized enterprises across the geographical area. The flooding has washed away years of hard toil and perspiration and has left in its wake a trail of destruction, devastation and massive loss.

These people, including householders, business people and farmers, will have to pick up the pieces during the next couple of months. For those who have insurance, the first port of call for them will be their insurance company and statutory agencies such as the local authorities. I know Westmeath County Council and Athlone County Council have done the best they can within meagre and limited resources, which we must never forget. There are, however, people who do not have insurance and who are in a precarious situation. These people may not have been able to obtain insurance because they previously made a claim in respect of flooding. We are aware that businesses are facing challenging times and are urging people to shop local and support local businesses that have been affected in recent weeks by the flooding. Insurance companies may cover companies who make a claim for flood damage if such flooding is random.

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