Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Considering this is about flood relief, I acknowledge that I met the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, in Midleton at the entrance to Tir Cluain estate and Moore's Bridge on the Sunday. I want to give a synopsis of why we are here tonight. These are the words of one of the volunteers in the hub in Midleton, County Cork:

The events of Wednesday 18 October 2023 will forever be engrained in the memory of everyone in east Cork .... Within hours of opening our doors the true devastation became obvious and we walked around Midleton. People were crying out for cleaning supplies. Bleach and disinfectant, mops, brushes and buckets [were] the most sought after goods so that is where we started. Within 24 hours the Midleton Hub had morphed into a humanitarian crisis hub. Amazing volunteers, companies [and] organizations all eagerly got on board to support the people of east Cork. In-house, our team at the Midleton Hub, all of whom are volunteers - we have no paid members of staff - who had a week earlier been unaware of the skills needed to manage a project of this magnitude hit the ground running by using their own personal experience and common sense to get the job done. The most frustrating aspect of what we were co-ordinating was the fact that there was no supports in place from any authority, body or government. Many people were expecting a 'plan' to be in place and 'someone' to be in charge but as the hours and days passed it became evident that this was not the case, there was no one coming and it was down to the Midleton Hub and the amazing community of east Cork - Midleton, Castlemartyr, Mogeely, Killeagh and Whitegate. There was no one coming to 'save' us. It was up to east Cork. Humanity, empathy and common sense - that is what has prevailed.

The questions put to me were as follows:

Where is the contingency? Who is the point of contact? Where is the emergency plan for when the next disaster hits east Cork, not just Midleton but Castlemartyr, Mogeely and all the areas throughout east Cork devastated by the recent events?

I have been contacted by a community nurse who was trying to secure a bed for an elderly lady in need after her own bed was destroyed by flooding. This elderly couple already existed in the "system", so why is a community nurse forced to seek supports elsewhere from a crisis volunteer group?

I have been tasked with having to make a decision about who is most in need. The names of five families appeared before me on a list. It fell on my shoulders to determine who I should give the fridge, the cooker, [and] the dehumidifier to. I had to choose between a family of two adults and five children, one child with severe autism; a family who literally had the clothes on their back and a one-year old child; or an elderly couple both in their late 60s with no family support; an elderly couple, one bed-bound, with no English; a family of three - two elderly parents and a son in his 30s with physical and mental health issues who was traumatised by the recent events. Why was that left to the Midleton Hub?

They are the words of one of the volunteers. I commend everybody who rallied around. I had a recent meeting with the municipal district officer as well. Only for these volunteers very little would have been co-ordinated. The Minister of State complimented the emergency services that were there and the county council and I have to commend the two social welfare officers who were out on the Saturday and Sunday knocking on doors trying to assist people. However, when I had this meeting I asked the district officer who is the co-ordinator where I go if this happens again. Where is the follow-up? We had met briefly on the Sunday above in the estate in Tír Cluain. There is also an issue with Moore's Bridge, which is on a private road, but again the system seems to be reactive instead of proactive. Cork County Council was very fast to issue a letter to the residents there saying: "That is not our problem. That is your baby. Get it out of the river because that is causing an obstruction." To my mind, in a time of emergency you have an emergency response. That should be pulled out and the debate had afterwards to assist with what they could do with that bridge. There are a couple of other issues and I will come back to them after the Minister of State replies. I want him to paint a picture of what is going to happen next.

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