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

Yes. Lets be realists about how the long term flood mitigation plan is long term, but I wanted to flag that with the Minister of State because many people are worried they will not have enough money to even pay for those prevention measures. Gleann Fia is slightly different because of the timber-frame structures there. There were suggestions to the effect that the adjacent land be used, and the farmer who owns it had agreed. There was talk about getting an engineer out to try to assess the position. It was also suggested that the land agreed with the farmer would be a holding pot that would divert water away from Gleann Fia. The people there are absolutely terrified. I know for a fact that it is lashing rain down there again this morning. Like other Deputies in the east Cork area, every time I hear of possible localised flooding it raises alarm bells.

I also raise with the Minister of State the possibility of a text alert system. There is one in, I think, Greenland. If there is an earthquake, a volcano erupts or something else happens, every citizen and tourist gets a text. It is just another preventative measure. In Tír Cluain, we had a tragedy a good few years ago. It is about the progress in putting the fence back up there. There was a steel wire fence being put up there. Work in that regard seems to be slow. It is more about reassurance for people because many families are on "lastchance.com". The ones in Gleann Fia are because they got an engineer's report from Germany to say that another flood will make those houses uninhabitable. They are looking for very quick-fix preventative measures. In fairness, the residents have come up with the solution already. It is a temporary one. As I said, it is an agreement with a farmer. I am wondering whether there is any way we can get around the red tape relating to it. We are coming into winter again. With the temporary measure, there is giving out that if the water is held on the land beside the estate and let into the culvert it will have an effect downstream in Castlemartyr and so on, but that water can be let off at any time. It is just an immediate measure to deflect the water away from there.

As I said, the text alert system is a big aspect. We are aware that there have been issues. The OPW has been very constructive. Inland Fisheries Ireland has been very troublesome. We often talk here about common sense, but sometimes bodies seem to not pull together so much as repel each other like two magnets. I spoke to the Minister of State down there. I thank him for the works that have been done already, but it is about the fear as we are coming into winter. Could the issues I have raised be addressed as soon as possible?

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