Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I am trying to be helpful because this is not an issue on which we should be political. I have two proposals, both of which are highly credible, on how we can use the existing mobile phone mast infrastructure to alert people in regional specific areas. Nobody is suggesting that if there is going to be significant flooding in Cork that 4 million people get a text message to say that a mini tsumani is coming down the River Lee from Inniscarra into Cork city. What we are suggesting is that we should be sophisticated enough, because the technology exists, to be able to use the mobile telephone masts in the Cork city area to contact people who will be directly affected by, for example, floods. If Bandon is going to be flooded on Tuesday, given that we have the data from the rivers that flow into that town and from the weather forecast expertise, we should use the mobile telephone mast infrastructure in that area in west Cork to send a message to that specific region to let those concerned know what is going to happen and when it is likely to happen in order that businesses and homes can prepare for it. It is inexcusable that we would not use the technology that is available to ensure that the kind of ill-prepared response to flood crises that happened in places such as Cork and elsewhere would not happen again and it certainly should not happen without warning.

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