Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I too thank all the people involved in providing back-up support yesterday, such as the city council, the county council, the fire services, the Civil Defence, the Army and the Garda. They did a fantastic job in very difficult circumstances and it is important we acknowledge them.

I raise the issue in Blackpool, which the Tánaiste referred to earlier. I know there are people who took a judicial review and, as a result, the development of flood relief in Blackpool has been delayed. My office is less than 20 yd from buildings that can be adversely affected when the river overflows. Can we now fast-track the process for dealing with the Blackpool flood relief scheme, get it back up and running and make sure the necessary infrastructure is put in place to deal with the threat that businesses face? As the Tánaiste knows, no investment is going to go into Blackpool until the flood relief issue is sorted out.

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