Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Since mid-December, this State has been battered by a series of very devastating storms. The hardship, destruction and devastation have been outlined in a series of debates we have had in the House. I know the Tánaiste and various Ministers have visited those communities that have been affected. Thanks to the work of local authorities and local communities with the assistance of Government funding, many of those areas are now starting to get back on their feet. However, it will be a long journey for a lot of people. Some people may never get the opportunity to re-open their businesses because of the devastation that has been caused and the fact that they were unable to get insurance for previous incidents of flooding. Some areas are living in a constant state of readiness waiting for the next flooding event. My own city of Cork and County Cork, which the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, visited very quickly after the last bout of flooding, was devastated with the city centre suffering devastation to unprecedented levels.

At the time, we needed to deal with three issues. The first was the immediate assistance that needed to be provided to home owners and business owners, and that phase has now concluded or is at least very well advanced. The second related to business owners and home owners who were unable to get insurance. I know the Minister of State is working hard on that issue with the insurance companies trying to get a memorandum of understanding. The Tánaiste might give us an update on that. The third phase, which was outlined by the Government, was investing in flood defences in the longer term. At the time, the Tánaiste stated that about €250 million would be invested over the next five years. We all know that this will not be enough to meet the challenges facing the State. In Cork, it is estimated that about €100 million is needed to put flood defences in place.

My question relates to EU assistance. I know the EU solidarity fund is only available for assistance in the immediate aftermath of flooding and will not help with capital projects and that the bar has been set very high. It is estimated that the amount of flooding damage and devastation would have to be in the region of €700 million for us to be able to apply for that. On 20 February 2014, the Tánaiste said his Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform are in discussions with the European Commission about the possibility of getting EU assistance in terms of funding to help alleviate flooding. Could he give us an update on those discussions? Are they still ongoing or have they concluded? If so, what was the outcome? My second question concerns an update. The Minister of State might be able to inform the Tánaiste of the discussions with the insurance industry.

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