David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. As he said, this all started in December 2015, eight years ago. That is a long time ago. Is he satisfied the OPW and the council have enough resources to carry on with the work and the planning and move it on? Do they need more manpower, expertise, engineers or planners to move this forward? He referred to insurance on several occasions. Several of the businesses in question were underinsured, unfortunately. I thank the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Red Cross for the work they did with businesses. Some businesses never expected the level of devastation that occurred. No one could have expected it. It was unprecedented. I have been in the shops, houses and businesses affected. It is devastating to see what happened. Some people were insured to a certain level but it went way beyond that. Can the State come in and help those businesses to make up the difference? Thus far, the scheme does not allow for that.

In addition, outdoor infrastructure was damaged in some cases. That is not covered either. The Minister of State referred to this being a one in 100 year event.

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