Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister for Social Protection has a central role in dealing with the expenditure of €15 million in humanitarian funds, which, pending an assessment, is an initial amount. The Cork city flood response group met on 3 February to activate the Cork city inter-agency flood emergency response plan. These are well established plans which are led by the city council to bring about a co-ordinated response to flooding in the city. The group includes Cork Fire Brigade, the Garda Síochána, the HSE and the Army. That flood response group agreed on a number of things, including public flood warnings, road closures, co-ordination with the ESB on water management for the River Lee through the Inniscarra Dam, the Lee tunnel closure and critical infrastructure. In addition, adult education facilities in the city centre were to close early and the ESB was requested to check its sub-stations. Vulnerable population areas were to be provided with sandbags and a decision was taken to remove parking facilities from affected areas. Media interface and briefings were also provided.

The group met again on 4 February and was expanded to include Port of Cork officials and naval officers. They agreed that sandbags would be distributed to businesses in the city centre as well as vulnerable areas at Wandesford Quay. In addition, the fire service and Civil Defence were put on standby to provide assistance, along with the Army, Navy and Coast Guard. Council roads, drainage and clean-up crews are also on standby, while diversion warning signage is in place and roads are closed off in affected areas. Electronic motorway signs provide flood alerts, while city centre traffic restrictions are in place between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. Bus Éireann and Irish Rail have been advised of road restrictions, while an evacuation plan is ready if the situation were to deteriorate further than expected. In addition, further public warnings will be issued.

The Deputy asked when we will have defences ready in Cork to deal with this situation, if that is possible. I am informed by the Minister of State that this will cost between €50 million and €100 million and will involve up to 10 km of what might be deemed appropriate wall defences, if it is possible to stop the inexorable rise of tides and consequential water back-up. This is a complex engineering challenge in Cork alone. It is not within the remit of politicians to decide how to deal with it on the basis of engineering challenges. The estimate for Cork is between €50 million and €100 million. Given what has occurred in Galway, Wexford and other locations, this presents a national challenge for the longer term. I agree that climate change is having a serious and unprecedented impact on our country. The OPW has spent €50.6 million in Cork in the past six years. I accept that €250 million for the country will not be adequate. We have an estimated 300 locations with serious flooding and farmers are now getting into difficulties with the usual annual Shannon floods.

In Cork, the warnings were there and the local community and public services responded. It is not easy to deal with such a challenge of nature but we are doing the best we can. Tomorrow morning the Cabinet meeting will hear an update on the situation. Next Tuesday, the Cabinet will receive a full report from the Minister, Deputy Hogan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes. We will then see how to deal with the situation.

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