Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious that Deputy O'Reilly's motion today is in respect of Storm Éowyn. I commend her on tabling this motion and agree fully with it.

Storm Éowyn did not have such a devastating impact in my constituency of Cork East, but it is one of an increasing number of extreme weather events in recent years that underline the seriousness of climate change and a more general lack of preparedness for those events, and also the lack of consistency and supports afterwards for those impacted.

We have heard themes today of inconsistency that are very familiar to my constituents from Storm Babet, which wreaked havoc in October 2023 in Midleton, Rathcormac, Mogeely, Castlemartyr, Killeagh, Ladysbridge and Whitegate. The inconsistency of financial supports in the aftermath of Storm Babet was the cause of much unnecessary additional stress and anxiety for many people traumatised by the destruction of their properties. I engaged with home and business owners in subsequent weeks and months and it appears the Department of Social Protection fund that was opened to homeowners was much more difficult to access than a separate Irish Red Cross fund that was available to business owners. Many homeowners told me about being tangled up in red tape, being expected to frontload a significant portion of the costs of repairing their homes, and in some cases being offered paltry sums for the replacement of very expensive items such as fitted kitchens. There was an assumption with these financial supports that homeowners would have tens of thousands of euro in reserve to deal with such an event. As well as the fact that we are living through a punishing cost-of-living crisis, how many people have the financial bandwidth to save for a possible natural disaster?

I cannot emphasise enough the additional distress that this bureaucracy and financial burden placed on many east Cork and north Cork residents at their lowest point. Those who had flood insurance had variable experiences. In some cases, residents were able to access supports in a relatively straightforward manner. Other residents had their claims dragged on over many months, and the consequences for those families were nothing short of a source of prolonged anguish.

What we need for all of these events is a one-stop shop system for people who were impacted. We need to make access to supports standardised, based on need and straightforward. It should not be left to chance factors whether you receive adequate support in the aftermath of a storm of flood.

The voluntary homeowners relocation scheme was introduced following a previous disastrous event, the flooding of December 2015. This scheme was based on the premise that some properties are at major risk of flooding and will not be protected by future mitigation measures. This is a sound principle of managed retreat, well recognised in other countries. That scheme was availed of by 31 homeowners, mostly in the north west. Unfortunately, this scheme has not been opened to any residents who were impacted by subsequent extreme weather events. I know of several families in east Cork who remain at extreme risk of flooding, who have undertaken extensive repairs to their homes and who are not likely to be protected by any of the proposed flood relief schemes for north Cork or east Cork.

Therefore, it makes economic as well as moral sense that these residents would be able to avail of such a relocation scheme.

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