Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

With the permission of the House I will share my time with Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The floods in Clonmel last week, only a few years after the previous flooding, show beyond doubt that a flood relief scheme is a serious and high priority. I welcome the prompt visit of the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Parlon, to Clonmel after the flood.

The problem was not confined to the quays. The town itself was almost cut off and the N24 was under a foot of water. There is an assurance that a scheme is being prepared and will be brought forward as a matter of priority. I stress the need for the local community, particularly the business community, to be given regular information about progress, particularly as a previous scheme was stalled. A letter was sent by the Office of Public Works only a fortnight before the recent flood about progressing the scheme but the matter has now become a higher priority.

Will a longer-term issue arise as a result of global warming and will there be a need in the future for a barrage to prevent spring tides coming upriver and meeting large amounts of flood water coming from the mountains?

Compensation is important and I welcome the Minister's announcement regarding the Red Cross. However, this only relates to individuals and not to businesses. Today's edition of The Irish Examiner contains a report of a garage which lost a couple of dozen cars. The garage owner moved the cars but not far enough and suffered a loss of approximately €400,000. I spoke today to someone who works in a carpet business and who has lost €20,000. The losses suffered by businesses, which are quite uninsurable, need to be examined in addition to compensation to individuals.