Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for providing me with a further opportunity to speak in solidarity with the people of east County Galway.

A major crisis bedevils us at this time, with serious flooding reported throughout Galway East, from Ballymoe in the north-east corner to Beagh in the south-west corner, from Clonfert in the south-east corner to Headford in the north-west corner, and in all the towns and villages in between, including Gort, Labane, Kilcolgan, Killeenan, Craughwell, Athenry, Loughrea, New Inn and into Menlough, Abbeyknockmoy, Williamstown, Ballinasloe, Eyrecourt and Meelick. All these areas are in a serious state.

I arrived in the area last Friday to see the serious situation in Ballinasloe where the town square was under four feet of water. I have been all over the constituency negotiating in different areas with State agencies and the local community and liaising with volunteers. I pay tribute to the Taoiseach, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, and Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Deputy Mansergh, all of whom visited the constituency on Saturday and Monday. Working through the day and into the night we saw at first hand the seriousness of the situation.

Cattle are drowning, people are isolated, churches are flooded, businesses are destroyed, housing estates are under water and people must be relocated and evacuated at short notice with nothing but the clothes on their backs. This is a serious challenge. The country faces a crisis as a result of climate change and three years of incessant rain. I hope all the State agencies, under Government direction, will be able to work together to bring about a resolution to the problem by providing humanitarian aid and assistance for agriculture. I thank the Minister for providing aid and dispatching officials to the constituency to experience conditions at first hand.

At a joint meeting of the Joint Committees on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and European Affairs this afternoon, I was proud to move a motion seeking full support for an application by Ireland to the European Commission for major assistance from the European solidarity fund. We need additional humanitarian aid and resources for the management of water systems and flood diversion and flood alleviation programmes.

All those affected are in a serious state. I spoke today to various farmers who were marooned with their livestock. In the past week I have spoken to many women and children who are in a distraught state as a result of having to leave their homes. Leaving one's home is very difficult, especially for young mothers with children and old people.

While I am grateful for the action taken by the Government thus far, we need national, regional, local and area plans to deal with the flood crisis bedevilling the nation and devastating my constituency. I am grateful to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, for providing support over the weekend and the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, for coming to the House, on behalf of the Government, to hear what is the position at first hand.

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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On behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, I pay tribute to Deputy Treacy for the work he is doing on behalf of his constituents in Galway East. The Government's primary concern is for the families and individuals in Galway, Cork, Clare, Carlow town and Clonmel and other areas who are suffering the effects of flooding of their homes and property and businesses whose viability and whose workers' livelihoods are put in jeopardy.

I record my appreciation and that of the Minister and Government of all the personnel of the various authorities and agencies, both public and voluntary, individuals and communities for their outstanding work in assisting in the rescue of people and the protection, where possible, of homes and premises from the effects of the flooding. It is also very encouraging to witness the community spirit of neighbour helping neighbour to cope with the difficulties arising from the floods.

The detailed work of the past few years in developing the major emergency planning system was satisfactorily put into action by local authority staff and other statutory agencies. Local authorities responded promptly to ameliorate the worst effects as regards those aspects for which they have direct responsibility.

I acknowledge the Trojan work of the Galway county manager, her crisis management team and staff in responding to the serious flooding occurring in east Galway. Flood damage to part of the water treatment plants in Ballinasloe and Portumna, while not requiring the closure of the plants, has meant that precautionary boil water notices have been put in place. Local authorities are required to liaise with the Health Service Executive before issuing or removing a boil water notice and must also notify the Environmental Protection Agency of such notices. On transport difficulties, while the position can change at short notice, I understand more roads have reopened for traffic in the Galway area.

The main priority at present is to help people with their immediate requirements of shelter, water and other supplies. The Government, conscious of the trauma caused by the flooding, announced yesterday that it will provide an extra €10 million for the humanitarian aid scheme through the community welfare service and an extra €2 million for the agriculture sector. Any person who is experiencing hardship as a result of the recent flooding should contact the local community welfare officer.

To learn lessons and look to the future, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government will ask the local authorities for reports on the effects of the flooding on individuals and businesses in their areas and measures which could be taken to reduce the risk of such further flooding in the future.

Although I appreciate that many people continue to experience great difficulty, it is important to acknowledge that the response agencies and members of the public have worked well together on the ground in Galway East and the other affected areas. It will be essential that we continue to focus on the range of measures that are needed to mitigate severe flood impacts for the future. The Government will keep the situation under review.