Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, to the House. As he is aware, in the early hours of last Thursday morning the village of Douglas, Cork, was devastated by uncharacteristic flooding. In the area around St. Columba's Terrace and St. Patrick's Terrace, a nice row of houses and a new shopping centre were submerged in water and destroyed.

My main question is about a culvert in Douglas village put in place last summer by Cork County Council at significant cost. Did the culvert work? If it did, why was there flooding? If it did not work, why? Should the culvert's grate be moved? Is there a need for a hydraulic lift to be put in place on the gate? Many questions arise over this culvert as water overflowed from it and caused devastation. This has become a significant issue to residents and local businesspeople in Douglas. I visited residents in St. Columba's Terrace who have lived there all their lives and never experienced such flooding. It is not about the amount of water that fell; it is about the devastation and cause. An explanation needs to be given by Cork County Council as to what happened with this culvert and its operation.

It is equally important the insurance industry works with small enterprises based in the new Douglas shopping centre. They are already paying high rents and are struggling to keep going. Both home owners and business people need answers. I know the Government has not been found wanting so far. However, the long-term issue in this case is the role played by a culvert in the recent flooding in Douglas village.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the office of the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter and acknowledge the presence of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, in the House. As Deputy Buttimer outlined, people in several parts of Cork woke up last Thursday morning to devastation caused by floods. Flooding occurred in Douglas, Togher, the Kinsale Road, Blackpool, Ballyvolane and Clonakilty in west Cork. The Minister knows the heartbreak it causes for people when their homes are damaged and personal belongings that can never be replaced are lost forever due to flooding. Many businesses, particularly those in the retail trade, were affected by this recent flooding when they are already struggling. Some cannot even get insurance and now face possible closure as a result of these recent events.

The wider community was also affected. For example, Togher community centre was destroyed. A major clean-up is in operation so it can be opened as quickly as possible. Does the Government intend to make any practical assistance available to those affected by last Thursday's floods? When a serious flood event occurred in Dublin last year, a €10 million assistance fund was established for home owners whose properties were affected. Does the Government have plans to bring forward a similar measure in order to assist the people of Cork who were so badly affected by the floods on Thursday morning last?

Deputy Jerry Buttimer referred to the culvert in Douglas which was only completed in the past 12 months. The county councillors who represent the area were informed that it had been designed to withstand a one in 1,000 year event. Such an event has taken place in the first of those 1,000 years. It is clear that the culvert failed the first test mother nature visited upon it and that the people affected must live with the consequences. There are questions which must be answered about the culvert and the value for money aspect.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Government, I thank Deputies Jerry Buttimer and Michael McGrath for raising this matter in order that I might address a number of points on the difficulties the people of Cork city and county experienced in the past week as a result of flooding. While, thankfully, no lives were lost, the flooding has impacted on homes and businesses in various areas. I agree that this has been an awful and devastating experience for the people concerned.

Met Éireann issued a severe weather warning at 4.54 p.m. on Wednesday, 27 June in respect of torrential and, possibly, thundery downpours during the period from 11 p.m. on that date to noon on 28 June. As predicted, there was heavy rainfall across the country. This spread from the south west and travelled in a north-easterly direction. A number of localised downpours occurred, particularly in several areas of Cork. Given their nature, it is not possible to predict accurately the exact location, scale or intensity of such downpours. An aggravating factor was the fact that the ground was already saturated as a result of the wettest June on record.

On foot of the weather warning to which I refer, Cork City Council and Cork County Council prepared by deploying outdoor staff to check drainage systems were clear; mobilising engineering staff to monitor rainfall and river levels; contacting the other principal response agencies, namely, An Garda Síochána and the HSE, to prepare for a co-ordinated response; and putting senior management on stand-by for crisis management roles. I listened carefully to what the Deputies said about the culvert in Douglas and intend to have the matter investigated. Information on that investigation will form part of the report I have requested from the city and county councils. Clonakilty, Douglas, Glanmire, Blackpool and Ballyvolane were particularly affected by the flooding. Road access to and from Clonakilty and Douglas was severely impacted upon and a number of roads were impassable. Flooding of ESB sub-stations left approximately 10,000 homes and businesses without power. Rivers burst their banks at Clonakilty and Douglas, causing severe flooding.

As the rainfall worsened Cork County Council's crisis management team activated its flood response plan at 4.10 a.m. on 28 June. Local authority fire services, engineering and outdoor staff were fully deployed to assist those worst affected. Civil Defence and other voluntary services were mobilised to assist and inter-agency co-ordination arrangements were formalised with An Garda Síochána and the HSE. In the light of the deteriorating situation, Cork County Council declared a major emergency at 6 a.m. on 28 June. This joined-up response involved communication and public information; prioritising resources to the worst affected areas; traffic management; rescue and evacuation; and pumping water in order to clear roads and protect infrastructure and property.

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government was notified of the situation in Cork shortly after 6 a.m. on Thursday last. As the extent of the impact of the rainfall elsewhere was unknown and because there were reports of significant power outages, it was decided to convene a meeting of the flooding national co-ordination group for 9.30 a.m. The group met again at 2.30 p.m. when it was decided to stand down because there were no major impacts outside Cork and the situation in the county was being effectively managed by Cork County Council and Cork City Council. The Cork major emergency plan was stood down at 6 p.m. on 28 June.

Specific recovery actions undertaken and still, to some extent, under way are working with local communities to clean up areas affected - I express my gratitude to local people in places such as Clonakilty because the clean-up to which I refer would not be possible without them - provision of skips to assist businesses and residents and opening recycling depots free of charge for those affected. In addition, the Department of Social Protection is actively involved, under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, in assisting those families and individuals affected by the flooding. The scheme in question provides for exceptional needs payments to help meet essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure which people could not be expected to meet from their weekly incomes. Furthermore, there is provision for assistance in the form of urgent needs payments. In certain circumstances, these payments can be made to persons who would not normally be entitled to supplementary welfare allowance.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport is in contact with Cork City Council and Cork County Council in the context of assisting with road restoration, the rebuilding of walls which may have collapsed and the making of repairs to other items of infrastructure damaged by flooding. The Office of Public works is carrying out a catchment flood risk assessment study of the south-west river basin district area which includes County Cork. This will produce a prioritised list of measures to address areas of significant flood risk and assign responsibility for their implementation. The study will also incorporate the recommendations of a pilot study already completed by the OPW on the River Lee catchment.

The Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform are considering ways in which we can assist the Red Cross in the provision of humanitarian assistance. They have also asked the financial institutions to help, if at all possible, the small number of businesses which have been affected, particularly those with no insurance. Local authorities' budgeting does not provide for costs they incur when responding to unforeseeable emergencies. The costs incurred by Cork County Council, Cork City Council and Clonakilty Town Council during and following the flooding last week are being assessed. I will be considering the position in this regard with relevant Government colleagues as quickly as possible. When all details and analyses of the flooding event that occurred in Cork last week are to hand in the coming days, a detailed report will be prepared for the Government task force on emergency planning in order that we can make a contribution to improving our resilience to deal with severe weather events of the kind witnessed last week. I will report to the Deputies in due course on the financial assistance which can, notwithstanding the fiscal constraints on the Government, be provided for the local authorities in question.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I allowed the Minister to overrun on the time allowed because this is an important issue. As a result, I ask Deputies Jerry Buttimer and Michael McGrath to pose brief supplementary questions.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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A fundamental question with which I hope the Minister's officials will deal is whether the flood water actually got into the culvert. I have been informed by residents - I have also been shown evidence to this effect - that this did not happen. The position on the community centre in Togher must be examined, particularly in the light of its proximity to the Tramore river. Insurance companies must be called to task and be made to work with and assist residents and business people in the affected areas. In some instances, these companies have been less than co-operative or helpful. As the Minister is aware, a number of them have still not paid out in respect of the damage caused by the flooding which occurred in the Middle Parish area of Cork in 2010.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister referred to the provision of financial assistance for local authorities. Such assistance is important, but what about helping the people who were affected by the floods?

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Assistance is being provided for them by the Department of Social Protection via community welfare officers.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister ignored the question I asked with regard to whether a fund would be put in place to provide practical assistance for those affected. It is not sufficient to merely point to the services on offer from community welfare officers and the Department of Social Protection. When a similar flooding incident occurred in Dublin last year, a special humanitarian assistance fund of €10 million was established. What is different about the people of Cork that they do not deserve similar treatment from the Government? It would be very helpful if the Minister could address this point.

I take the opportunity to acknowledge the work of local council staff in Cork who did their very best. However, they were overwhelmed because the damage had already been done.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I am sure Deputy Michael McGrath will agree that I must wait until I receive a full evaluation from the local authorities concerned before deciding on the amount of money that will be needed. I do not want to allocate funds which may not be required. I want to obtain a full report in the first instance. As stated, the Department of Social Protection - through the community welfare officers - is, in an exceptional way, providing assistance. The Red Cross will, I expect, be receiving additional funds from the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform in order that they might provide help on a humanitarian basis. It is not yet possible to quantify the response that will be required from a financial point of view. However, assistance is being provided for those who need it.

We cannot always beat the weather. Nobody ever expects 70 millimetres of water to fall in the course of three hours. However, we must be resilient and ensure we help people to deal with the difficulties. Regardless of whether it is the effectiveness of culverts, matters affecting Togher or issues relating to the insurance industry or those who have no insurance, we will see what we can do to assist.