Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Members for their contributions to the debate on the series of storms that have hit the country since mid-December and their impact on people, infrastructure and property. I join Members of the House in sympathising with the colleagues, friends, relatives and loved ones of Michael O'Riordan, who was tragically killed on Saturday last while working to restore services in west Cork.

This debate has been extended beyond the initial time allocated in last Wednesday's sitting of the House and is a clear indication of the scale and the extent of damage caused and the seriousness with which Members are taking the matter. On Wednesday last, at the time this House was discussing the impact of previous weather events, all present in the Chamber were conscious of damage being caused as hurricane-strength gales tracked eastwards across counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny and Carlow. The storm on 12 February had been forecasted by Met Éireann as a red-level storm in southern counties under its new colour-coded warning system. Orange warnings applied to other parts of the country, and these were upgraded as the actual impact of the storm became apparent in the south. The storm caused huge damage. Roofs were torn from buildings; schools and workplaces were forced to close; hundreds of trees were toppled; there were electricity outages to more than 260,000 customers; and water treatment and communications infrastructure were affected. In my own county of Kilkenny, the impact was such that for a short period a major emergency was declared.

When it was deemed safe to do so, the emergency services went into response mode and the clean-up began. ESB Networks made safe fallen wires and began the arduous task of restoring electricity supplies. Local authority staff started clearing trees that had fallen on roads, making them open again to traffic and emergency services. Once again, I join with all Deputies in expressing gratitude to the staff of the local authorities and the emergency services for the effectiveness of the front-line response, not only to the storm of 12 February but also to the previous severe weather events that hit the country. The principal response agencies worked effectively together to assist people and communities. I wish to thank all those who participated in the emergency response at local level, including members of the Defence Forces who were active on the ground in parts of the country. Having multiple agencies working effectively together with common objectives was the goal of both the local and national co­ordination efforts. At national level, my Department is designated as lead Department for the response to severe weather events. A national co-ordination group on severe weather, chaired by my Department, worked throughout the storm events, bringing together all relevant Departments and agencies to ensure a whole-of-Government response and to support the local-level response.

The time set aside in the Dáil schedule for these statements on severe weather and flooding has afforded Members a valuable opportunity to reflect on the extent and scale of the damage caused to the livelihoods and property of people who live and work in the communities affected. I join other Members of the House to commend the resilience of the households, businesses and communities affected by electricity outages and flooding. There are many examples of individuals and organisations who rallied locally and came to the assistance of neighbours.

The statements of Cabinet colleagues and Deputies have also provided a valuable insight into the effects of the severe weather on specific sectors. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine outlined in his statement last Wednesday the damage suffered by coastal communities and the damage done to piers, harbours, and slipways - infrastructure on which both island communities and the Irish fishing fleet are hugely dependent. Many Deputies in the course of their contributions highlighted the particular problems being encountered by the farming community. We have also heard reports about the damage caused to our transport network, to amenities and to tourist infrastructure. The immediate aim of the Government is to get households and communities functioning again as quickly as possible. Very good progress has been made by the ESB since last Wednesday, and it has now restored supply to almost 258,000 customers, leaving approximately 2,000 without supply.

Last week the Government considered a report on the impact of the severe weather that hit Ireland from mid-December 2013 to 6 January 2014 and agreed a number of measures, including €70 million to repair the damage caused by the series of storms. This funding is for clean-up, repair and restoration works in regard to essential social and public infrastructure. The moneys will be used by local authorities in the areas worst affected by the storms to undertake programmes of work aimed at restoring roads, coastal protection and other infrastructure and amenities. The Government has asked that works that are significant for economic activity be prioritised, and these should be completed before the summer tourist season where feasible.

This funding clearly demonstrates the Government's commitment to respond to the needs of communities devastated by the storms. It is based on the requests from local authorities, and while I do not underestimate the scale and complexity of the task ahead, it will facilitate local authorities in commencing a programme of prioritised works to assist communities in the areas worst affected. My Department has been working with the other relevant funding Departments and agencies to ensure that the funds for the required works are channelled to local authorities as quickly as possible.

I wish to pay tribute to my Cabinet colleague, the Minister, Deputy Joan Burton, and the staff of the Department of Social Protection on the dedicated and systematic way they have approached the task of meeting the immediate needs of people who have been affected by flooding resulting from the weather conditions and very high tides. The Government has made €25 million available through that Department's urgent and exceptional needs and humanitarian assistance schemes. This has provided emergency payments for essentials including food, clothing and replacement of white goods, and will fund repairs of flood damage to households. Where required, local authorities have made alternative accommodation available for those who have had to leave their homes in the aftermath of flooding.

Deputies have suggested that the Government should have applied for European Union aid. My Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform met with the European Commission to deal with the possibility of EU funding under the solidarity and regional support schemes. The purpose of the EU Solidarity Fund is to allow member states to request financial aid in the event of major natural disasters. However, there is a damage threshold per member state, which is set at 0.6% of gross national income. The estimated cost of the damage caused by the storms between 13 December 2013 and 6 January 2014 is €69.5 million, which is well below the non-negotiable GNI threshold for the Solidarity Fund of 0.6%, or €770 million in the case of Ireland. It should also be noted that assistance from the fund is limited to financing emergency operations undertaken by public authorities alleviating non-insurable damages.

The possibility of a regional application has also been considered. This is also subject to a series of impact criteria, including one which states that 50% of the population of a region must be affected, which again the situation under consideration does not appear to meet. The Government has correctly concluded, therefore, that there is no application for European funding to be made at this time.

Local authorities have estimated that over €53 million would be required for strengthening coastal protection and coastal flood defences in order to mitigate further damage in the event of storms and tidal surges. This requires more detailed examination and will be considered by the Office of Public Works in the context of coastal protection and CFRAM studies. The OPW will report further to the Government on proposed coastal protection works.

A recurring theme during the course of the debate has been the effectiveness of the flood defence measures provided in many towns, particularly in Clonmel, Fermoy and Mallow. There have been calls to extend these as speedily as possible to other places where a clear need has been identified. As the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, pointed out in his contribution to this debate, a very significant capital works investment programme will see up to €225 million being spent on flood relief measures over a five-year period from 2012 to 2016, at the end of which a new plan will be set out. However, it is important to put the scale of the task into perspective. It is estimated that the 300 locations identified as vulnerable in a flood mapping exercise undertaken by the OPW will cost somewhere between €1.6 billion and €2 billion to protect. This will be a capital expenditure issue for Government for many years to come. The scale and costs of these types of flood defence works mean that the benefits will be realised over the medium and longer term. In the shorter term, however, the provision of appropriate flood defence measures for specific small areas and properties continues to be managed by OPW in conjunction with the relevant local authorities under their small schemes programme.

The issue of non-availability of flood insurance has been raised during this debate. The Department of Finance monitors non-availability of flood insurance cover and is currently undertaking a review of the availability of insurance arising from this debate. When the review is complete, it will be examined by the Minister for Finance who will report to Government on the measures, if any, that are appropriate to improve the availability of flood insurance cover.

The Government has provided very significant additional support to deal with the huge damage and loss caused by the storms. We are standing shoulder to shoulder with communities that have been affected and are making humanitarian assistance available to individuals and households. I will be reporting again to the Government on 4 March next on the damage caused and the estimated repair costs arising from the most recent round of severe weather. My Department is currently gathering the necessary information from local authorities in this regard. I want to assure this House that the Government will do everything it can to ensure that our communities recover as quickly as possible from these severe weather events, and we will continue to examine how best to mitigate the effects of future weather events.

I thank all those in the various Departments, agencies and local authorities which were involved in delivering front-line services over the last eight weeks for the great work they have done to ensure people were safe, communities received assistance and individuals received respite, financially or otherwise, to tide them over these unusual weather events.

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