Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Members for their contributions to the debate. They were much appreciated and the debate was most constructive. The Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran, was not present for the start of the debate so I wish to acknowledge his travelling to Donegal the day after the flooding and the time he spent there observing the extent of the damage. The time he gave was very prompt, necessary and appreciated. I also acknowledge Mr. Seán Hogan's role and his courtesy in carrying out that role.

Some good and important points were made in this debate. My party's objective in tabling the motion is to ensure lessons are learned about what could have been done better in response to flooding on Inishowen and address some remaining weaknesses and failures.

Deputy Michael McGrath spoke very well on the issue of insurance cover, which the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran, also acknowledged. The motion calls for progress to be made on enacting a Fianna Fáil Bill in this area, which will be crucial. It also calls on the Oireachtas to explore the options available to households unable to obtain insurance, including an examination of the model introduced in the United Kingdom.

With regard to the necessity to fully implement the capital funding allocation, the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, spoke about the budgets available to him. A sum of €431 million has been allocated for flood alleviation in the period up to 2020. It is crucial that this funding is drawn down and there are no delays in using it for flood mitigation measures. The Ministers of State, Deputy Moran and Deputy McHugh, and a number of other politicians visited Burnfoot in County Donegal where they saw flooding in the Páirc an Ghrianán housing estate. I corresponded with the Department before the floods on the need for flood mitigation measures on the estate. However, the Department recommended that works should not be carried out. The Minister of State will have seen the results of that decision. The adjacent estate, Lios na Greine, was also flooded.

The implementation of the CFRAM study has been delayed and must be expedited. The measures required as a result of the study must be introduced. The budget for its implementation has been allocated and must be used for that purpose. There must be no further delays in rolling out the programme.

Previous speakers raised the issue of river cleaning. There is a gap in respect of who has responsibility for cleaning rivers. In County Donegal and other counties no agency has responsibility for this. While the cleaning of rivers would not have prevented the recent flooding on Inishowen, it is an ongoing contributory factor in many flooding events. The nettle must be grasped and the issued addressed to ensure some agency is given responsibility for cleaning rivers. I have no doubt local authorities would be willing to assume this role if they were given responsibility and the funding required for the task.

I again commend the ongoing work of those whom I thanked in my earlier contribution. Many more months of work lie ahead. Donegal County Council continues to do this work well and it is important that it receive support from the Minister of State. I acknowledge the work of the councillors of Inishowen municipal district who worked exceptionally hard, night and day, with officials from Donegal County Council to ensure a good response to the flood damage. I particularly acknowledge the work of my party's councillors in the district, Martin McDermott, Rena Donaghey and Paul Canning. All the councillors in the municipal district continue to press this issue.

As the motion states, the response to the flooding on Inishowen was not good enough in many instances. The Minister of State indicated he wished to address many of the issues that have arisen. I thanked him earlier for his quick response and for visiting the area, as did many other Ministers and politicians. Notwithstanding this, it was a week before it was announced that the Red Cross would provide support to small businesses and sporting and voluntary organisations. During that week, people stood in mud and water with lost stock and without support for their businesses. As the Minister of State will acknowledge, this was not good enough. We must learn lessons to ensure this does not happen again.

It took two weeks for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to agree to establish a fund to provide financial support to the agriculture sector. People had to wait a further week for application forms to become available. In the meantime, many farms had been devastated, with rubble in fields, stock lost and fences broken. Repair work should be ongoing but, as of today, none of the affected farmers has received funding. Money should have been provided promptly to allow work to commence. Lessons need to be learned because the response in this case was not good enough.

As well as learning lessons, we must address a number of issues immediately, including funding for sporting organisations. As I outlined, Cockhill Celtic soccer club has been without two pitches for five weeks. The pitches will need to be completely relaid, which will probably cost in excess of €100,000. The club has still not been informed that it will receive funding for this work. This is not for a new development, which would be covered by sport capital allocations, but to restore existing facilities. It is not good enough that the club has been left picking up the pieces without financial support. It should have been given a commitment that it would receive the funding it requires. The motion calls for the provision of this funding and, if passed, as I expect, the Government must follow through by providing it.

Swan Park in Buncrana is a fantastic public amenity used by hundreds of people every day. Substantial investment in recent years enabled the park to be incrementally developed into a fantastic facility. After the flooding, it needs to be rebuilt. However, the Government has not given a commitment to ensure the park is restored to its former state. The motion calls on the Government to make such a commitment and I hope it will deliver it.

Likewise, Gleneven Waterfall in Clonmany is a tremendous tourist attraction which was developed by the local community over a period of years. Much restoration work has already been done, with supplies and labour being provided free of charge. However, the community needs a commitment of support from the Government, as called for in the motion.

Inexplicably, a number of farmers have been left out of the scheme that has been announced. I know one farmer who lost 40 acres of grain and 60 acres of potatoes as a result of the flooding. He harvested his barley crop, at a low yield, after the flooding but the veterinary advice was that it could not be used because of the risk of contamination. This farmer has been entirely excluded from the fund the Government belatedly announced. The funding available has been capped at €15,000, which would not go very far in meeting his losses. We must engage with the European Union to ascertain whether it will provide flexibility on offering additional support. As matters stand, the farmer in question has been excluded from the fund, which is scandalous. The motion calls for this issue to be addressed. Five weeks after the flooding occurred, it should not be the case that this farmer has not received assistance. Other farmers who lost potatoes and second crop silage have also been excluded from the agricultural fund, as have farmers on whose land roads were washed away. The motion calls for these farmers to be included in the scheme and for the Government to provide support. This must be done now.

I welcome the support for the motion expressed by Deputies across the House. I also welcome the amendment tabled by Sinn Féin, which I am pleased to accept. I am disappointed the Government's amendment does not deal with the substantive points raised in the motion or provide the commitments on the issues I have outlined. It is crucial these commitments are provided. We cannot accept the Government amendment on that basis. I hope the House will support the motion. I ask sincerely that the Government act on it and learn lessons in terms of what can be done better. It must also act now to address the issues I have raised and provide the support many people need at this very difficult time.

See this speech in context