Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is a very important debate and I thank the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, for facilitating it. It has particular resonance for me as a Deputy for Limerick City, which had the worst floods ever recorded there. People are still recovering from them. Many areas are affected, including St. Mary’s Park, Lee Estate, Assumpta Park, Thomond Gate and O’Dwyer’s Villas, Athlunkard Street, the Mill Road, Corbally Road and portions of Sir Harry’s Mall. People are trying to get back to normality.

The services' reaction time was critical. I thank the Minister for facilitating and arranging for Sean Hogan, who heads up our National Emergency Coordination Centre, to come down the day after the floods occurred in Limerick to see the damage at first hand and to report to the Minister. This had a significant impact on the people in the area and on the overall national response. He saw the difficulties people were experiencing. The reaction times for the local authority, the HSE, the gardaí, the Department of Social Protection and the Defence Forces were extremely important. More recently, the phenomenal work of the ESB must be commended. I reserve my greatest admiration for the people living in these areas and their community spirit. They were out helping neighbours, sons and daughters, friends. I was humbled to be in their presence and to see the work they did.

We are now moving to restoration. There are concerns about a high tide at the end of this month. It is important that everything is put in place. Security sandbanks have been built up around King's Island, which is extremely important. We must be ever-vigilant. Insurance is the big issue now. We must ensure that people without insurance are given the facilities to make their houses habitable. A Red Cross fund has been established through the Department of Social Protection for humanitarian aid. I welcome that, and people should contact the Department to follow it up.

Many people will not be able to get insurance, even if they had it before. We have to consider putting in place schemes interacting with the insurance industry through the Office of Public Works, OPW, as part of a wider scheme, to ensure that if the proper measures are put in place people can get insurance. The way organisations came together to help people, including local community centres such as King’s Island, and Linda Ledger and her team in St. Munchin’s community centre in Kileely, showed that the Limerick spirit is alive and well. People need assistance. The key features of that are the provision of funding to ensure people can get back into their homes, and ensuring they can get insurance in the future, which we need to do nationally. This involves ensuring that people’s homes are safe. What has been put in place around King’s Island is a temporary measure. It will be examined. We need to bring regeneration funding through various routes to ensure that we put in place flood defences and preventive measures for the future so that people feel safe in their homes, whether they live in St. Mary’s Park, Assumpta Park, Lee Estate, Athlunkard Street, Mill Road, Corbally Road or any other affected area.

See this speech in context