Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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I would appreciate if the Acting Chairman let me know when four minutes are up. I wish to share the last minute with Deputy Jimmy Deenihan who now has an interest in the area because of the change in constituencies.

The flooding in Newcastle West on 1 August was devastating. It was frightening. Most of the population of Newcastle West was present to see what happened. Such a deluge was never seen in living memory in the area, perhaps never. We challenge the Government to engage immediately with the people of Newcastle West who have had their premises damaged and who require assistance. Rather than passively saying that it is available to listen, the Government should engage actively with the committee which represents the victims of the flood.

The weather on the days leading up to 1 August was wet. Persistent rainfall resulted in a saturated catchment. This was revealed by soil deposits as calculated by Met Éireann. Eyewitness accounts and rainfall radar images indicate that the rain began at around 7.30 p.m. on 31 July and continued until approximately 1.30 a.m. on 1 August, giving a storm duration of six hours. Premises and houses were destroyed. The committee reckoned that up to 200 houses and properties, including business properties, were damaged. The damage cost for that single night is estimated at up to €40 million. Many houses were not insured either because they were owned by elderly people or for a variety of other reasons. People went out of business as a result of the destruction of premises.

The Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, visited the following evening and saw for himself the devastation in the area of Newcastle West. I visited the following morning with Councillor Jerome Scanlon and saw the damage at first hand before any clear up was attempted. It was so devastating that water six feet deep flowed down streets that never had been flooded previously. Met Éireann has shown that the eye of the storm travelled from Cork towards Newcastle West where it stopped for six hours before moving on. This is what caused the problem.

I want to ensure two things in respect of the Government's response to the needs that exist. First, the authorities in Northern Ireland responded immediately in an interim fashion by offering £1,000 sterling to the victims of flooding in the North. There is adequate precedent for assisting victims of flooding in Ireland in locations such as Fermoy, Drumcondra and other areas of Dublin and I ask the Minister of State to respond in this regard. Second, I ask that the Office of Public Works, OPW, will ensure that everything is done so that were such an event to recur, the system will be able to take it. While the OPW has stated it is a once in 650 years chance, it could happen again next year as it also is a twice in 1,300 years chance. Concerns have been expressed about some bridges and rivers and I ask that the Minister of State's office will make every effort to ensure no finance will be spared in respect of anything that can be done. This should be done without any consideration of the public purse. Finally, as Limerick County Council will incur a massive financial bill on this issue, the Government must respond to it.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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I wish to inform the Minister of State, Deputy Martin Mansergh, that major problems also occurred in Athea, County Limerick, which is close by. The people of Athea were somewhat disappointed the Minister of State did not visit them because a number of families there were flooded and were obliged to leave their houses. They felt somewhat isolated and believe they did not receive the attention they deserved.

The river at Athea is completely overgrown and obviously has not been maintained for some time. I visited the location on the day after the flooding and although the local OPW carried out some temporary work, unless the river is included in the agency's arterial drainage scheme by virtue of the Arterial Drainage Act 1945, which must be amended, it has no responsibility for it. This must be considered seriously because someone must take responsibility for rivers, especially when they threaten houses, the local population and perhaps even lives. While the Minister of State visited Newcastle West, I do not know whether he has done anything since about what happened there. However, if he intends to take measures, he also should think of the people of Athea.

I thank Kerry County Council for providing sandbags to the people of Athea, thus demonstrating that people can work together. This ensures that were any further problems to arise, they at least would have the sandbags to make them more secure and so on. I thank Deputy Neville for allowing me some time.

Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputies for giving me an opportunity to come into the House to discuss the severe flooding in Newcastle West and Athea. While many locations have been affected by serious flood events in recent weeks, it was particularly severe in Newcastle West. Having seen at first hand the devastation caused in the town on the night of 31 July and 1 August and having spoken to people affected by the flooding there and in other parts of the country, I am very aware of the hardship and loss they have suffered. I am glad to have the opportunity to place on the record of the House my personal sympathy and concern as well as that of the Government for the victims of the flooding. I certainly am thankful there was no loss of life because in Newcastle West in particular, there was some danger of this.

It is only by seeing the situation at first hand, as I did when I visited Newcastle West and a number of other locations that also experienced severe flooding, that it is possible to get a full sense of the hardship and worry flooding causes. The Office of Public Works and I are acutely aware of the impact of flooding and we are committed to doing all we can to alleviate it through the provision of defences to best practice standards to reduce existing flood risk and by taking steps to prevent the creation of future risk. This is not the time to go into detail on those matters as time is limited and the topic under discussion is the flooding in Newcastle West and the surrounding area, as well as in Athea.

This summer has seen unprecedented levels of rainfall occur in many places. It has been estimated that the rainfall that fell on Newcastle West would be expected to occur once in 650 years, although I should qualify that by stating that experts caution that the degree of confidence that one can have in such an extreme statistic is very limited. The chairman of South Tipperary County Council, who was brought up in Newcastle West as a boy, told me there was a flood, albeit not as serious as the most recent event, back in 1947.

Tom Sheahan (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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That was the year in which Cavan played Kerry in New York.

Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)
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It is beyond doubt, however, that the rainfall over the area on the night of 31 July and 1 August was several times greater than the highest level that would be expected and that in turn produced a flood in the river far beyond the normal probabilities of occurrence. The River Arra, which flows through the town, is part of the River Feale catchment and is therefore maintained on a regular basis by the Office of Public Works. Prior to the flood it had been maintained in 2006 and would have coped comfortably with the normal rainfall for the area. The rainfall on the night, however, was, as I noted already, far beyond the norm. As a result, the flood was not contained within the river walls and banks, thus causing the devastation that is now well documented. The OPW has carried out further maintenance works on the channel through the town to remove any debris or vegetation that might impede flows in the river in future flood conditions.

The OPW also has commenced a detailed analysis of the 1 August flood event with a view to identifying options that might reduce the likelihood of flooding. The findings of the study recently commissioned by Limerick County Council on the flooding will be taken into account in this analysis. The aim of the analysis would be to ensure the town has the level of immunity from flooding that would generally be provided by the OPW's flood relief schemes. This would provide protection from flood events of a severity that would be expected to occur once in every 100 years. Preliminary analysis has indicated that there may be stretches of the channel where this level of protection is not available at present. If this proves to be the case, my office will work with Limerick County Council to have the necessary works carried out, provided these are acceptable on economic and environmental grounds. I will endeavour to ensure that, notwithstanding the current difficult financial and economic conditions, funding will be available to allow works to proceed as soon as possible.

I am conscious that in addition to the trauma caused by the flooding, people also suffered financial loss arising from the damage caused to their property. The Department of Social and Family Affairs has responsibility for providing humanitarian assistance where it is considered appropriate and is providing help through the community welfare officer network to victims of the recent flooding. It is hoped that since Newcastle West has not experienced flooding in recent memory, most of the losses sustained by victims will be covered by insurance. However, people who are suffering hardship should contact the local community welfare officer for assistance and each case will be dealt with confidentially and on its merits. Recent humanitarian assistance schemes have not extended to cover business or agriculture.

I assure the House that the Office of Public Works will continue to work in partnership with Limerick County Council to try to alleviate the risk of future flooding in Newcastle West and the surrounding areas. OPW officials already have attended meetings of Newcastle West Town Council and a public meeting in the town to give information to councillors and the public on the position. The OPW will continue, through the council, to make relevant information available and in particular will work to try to ensure Newcastle West is protected from a flood that has a 1% probability of occurrence and therefore has the same level of protection as other areas of the country at risk from river flooding.

I should also state that the OPW is aware of the flooding that occurred in Athea, County Limerick, on the same day as the flooding in Newcastle West. The flooding did not occur from a channel for which the Office of Public Works has responsibility but notwithstanding this, the OPW did provide assistance to the council with the clean-up after the event.

I conclude by again expressing my sympathy to the victims of the flooding in Newcastle West and surrounding areas——

Tom Sheahan (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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That is not much use to them.

Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)
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——and I assure them of my support for the work that is already under way to provide reassurance to them regarding risk in the future.