Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As we speak, the country is experiencing one of the severest of the current series of storms. Our thoughts are with all the emergency response workers who are dealing with the damage and all the communities that are affected by it. According to the RTE website, the managing director of ESB Networks has described the situation as as bad, if not worse, than anything that has occurred in the past decade. It would be remiss of us not to acknowledge the major response being provided by the staff of the utility companies, local authority workers, members of the Civil Defence and others since the start of the year.

Having visited west County Sligo last weekend, the Minister of State, Deputy John Perry, will have seen the extent of the damage caused by recent storms. The damage must be seen to be believed. Large rocks have been washed up on farms and piers and major destruction has been caused to piers and roads along the entire coast. I make no apology for focusing on the damage that has been caused in County Mayo. Mayo County Council has prepared a three page document which sets out the level of destruction caused in the county. It refers to damaged walls, a car park being washed away, the complete breach of a wall, pontoons being swept away, flood defences damaged and the rear of properties being destroyed. It also notes the repairs required to piers and the need to build walls along the River Moy. The cost of the damage is estimated to be in the region of €13 million.

The total cost of this work is €13.5 million, of which €524,000 is required immediately for clean-up works.

It is essential this money is released without delay. While I welcome that €70 million has been allocated I am deeply frustrated by the Government's refusal to apply to Europe for funding. The Minister, Deputy Hogan, who apparently is in charge of the Government's response, told us today that the Government does not propose to apply for funding because we do not qualify for it. This same advice was given to the late Brian Lenihan in 2010 but he ignored that advice and, working with Pat the Cope Gallagher, MEP, applied for funding on a regional basis and secured some €13 million. The Minister needs to go back to the drawing board and to prepare an application under the regional emergency fund before the deadline of 21 February. If he needs help in doing so, Pat the Cope Gallagher, MEP, is more than willing to assist him. The Government's defeatist attitude in terms of coming in here and saying that it will not apply for the funding because it will not get it is wrong. In regard to the €70 million announced yesterday, given the response needed in Clare, as mentioned earlier by Deputy Carey, that €70 million will be swallowed up very quickly. The Government should be seeking funding from everywhere it can. The attitude that we are not going to get it when compared with what happened in this regard in 2010 is completely unacceptable.

A number of specific actions are needed, with which I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Perry, will identify. On the agricultural side, a number of farms have been severely damaged by the flooding. Land that was mapped has been severely damaged by sand, seaweed and boulders thrown onto it. Land around the coast at Achill, Belmullet and Easky, which the Minister of State, Deputy Perry, visited at the weekend, has been swept into the sea. There is a need for a common sense approach by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in terms of investigations and inspections. We experienced storms prior to the ones which affected Limerick and Wexford, although it took those two storms to get funding moving. On the first Monday of January when an inspector arrived to a farm on the coast of Mayo to inspect fencing work that had been carried out there in November, the farmer having, unfortunately, passed away in the meantime, there was no talking to him in terms of the huge damage that had been done to the fencing, with much of if having been swept into the sea because of storm damage the previous weekend.

This type of bureaucracy gone mad has to cease in this case. Maps in place up until last year need to suffice until such time as farmers can reclaim their farms or repair damage done to them. Hardship money such as is being provided by the Department of Social Protection must also be provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for farmers, who must also be given advice on what to do because currently they are being given conflicting advice in regard to what they can do in terms of repairing damage. The National Parks and Wildlife Service is loitering around, although the National Park officers in Mayo have been most helpful. Farmers need to know whether if they do repairs they will be penalised. In other words, if they move sand, sea stones, etc., off their land, will they be penalised? Nobody appears to be able to give a definitive answer in that regard.

Similarly, small scale fishermen around the coast have been destroyed by the recent flooding. Thousands of lobster pots, which cost approximately €50 each, have been destroyed or washed away. One fisherman in Achill lost 600 lobster pots in the first weekend in January. They were his livelihood. He has no other way of making money to feed his family. He needs those pots replaced quickly. Similarly, nets and boats have been washed away. Small traditional rowing boats, such as currach and punt boats, which are essential for getting people to and from the mainland, have been swept away. Money must be provided for the replacement of these boats which provide essential transport. The island communities do not have DART and so on. Much of their transport is by boat. As such, there is need for urgent provision to replace the boats swept away.

On the first weekend of January there was major flooding in Ballina. Anybody with any kind of sense of tide tables knew there would be similar flooding in the first weekend of February, and there was. Flooding occurred in the same area of the town for the second time in four weeks. There was huge damage caused to houses, which put the households concerned under enormous stress. When one attempts to engage with a local authority in terms of providing a comprehensive response before a second event and that does not happen, it is frustrating. People are justifiably angry. There are high tides promised for the first weekend in March. We are told these tides will be similar to those which occurred during the first weekend in February. We are currently experiencing low pressure, which will exacerbate flooding damage. There is a need for a comprehensive response country-wide in the next few weeks ahead of the March tides. The attitude that has prevailed up to now, such that everything will be all right on the night, is not good enough. Everything was not all right on the night for many households in Ballina on the first weekend of February, resulting in their homes being damaged again.

There is a need for significant investment in flood defences along coastal areas. We have never before witnessed the types of tides and winds we are currently experiencing. There must be serious investment in rock defences. Also key bridges around the country need to be investigated in the coming weeks as a matter of priority. The level of water in our rivers is significantly higher than it has ever been. Bridges along the Moy, Shannon and other major rivers, which are traffic arteries, must be investigated as soon as water levels decrease to ensure no incidences with bridges over the course of the next few weeks.

As we speak, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is chairing a COBRA meeting in response to the flooding and storm conditions in Britain. Last week, the Taoiseach confirmed that the Minister, Deputy Hogan, is in chair of the national response here. The only person who appears to be pulling up his sleeves and doing any work is Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes. He is travelling the country and engaging with communities. The response thus far has not been good enough. The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, reverted to candidate Hayes about two hours ago and attacked the Fianna Fáil Party leader, Deputy Martin, for criticising the Government response. I accept that conditions are very difficult but this does not prevent us calling the Government out for a poor response. The first round of storms and flooding occurred in the first weekend in January. The response was slow, to say the very least. Yesterday, when travelling here amid snow and gales I heard the chairman of the national co-ordinating committee say on radio that the committee did not intend meeting because everybody was happy with events. It is an interview worth listening to. The weather forecast is the main news item in terms of what is happening. We need a far more urgent response. It is not fair for a line Minister to be giving that response. This should be led from the top by the Taoiseach. If the Prime Minister of Britain has the time to lead a response surely the Taoiseach can do so.

The long-term response to this matter is a far bigger debate. The Ceann Comhairle in the past chaired the committee on climate change and energy security for many years. What we need now is to put in place whatever is necessary to avoid any damage in the next few weeks. There must also be a humanitarian response for people who are suffering and a response from local authorities with funding provided in the main by the Government but also from Europe. The notion of giving up on funding from Europe is unacceptable when history and the track record shows it is possible to get it.

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