Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I appreciate the magnanimous and generous gesture made by my colleague Senator McCarthy and the Labour Party in giving up their Private Members' time for this debate.

No place has been left untouched by the recent devastating floods. Thank God, no lives have been lost to date. After a disastrously wet summer and with so much rain already in the early part of the winter, my concern is that there will be much more rainfall by 1 May. I hope we will not have another onslaught but we must be prepared for it if there is.

South-west Cork - in particular, Bandon, Clonakilty and Skibbereen - suffered severe damage in the floods. It is worrying that Bandon saw damage never seen before in my lifetime. Is the dredging and drainage management of the waterways being carried out? If not, why not? A dredging operation of the River Bandon, at the cost of €1.3 million, was done near Dunmanway some five years ago which I hope alleviated flooding in the area. However, this piecemeal approach to waterways management could have had knock-on effects downstream on Manch and Bandon. A full appraisal of such works must be carried out.

I am also concerned about the questions raised about the Inniscarra dam and the flooding of Cork city. Despite the co-ordinated efforts of local authorities, the Department and other agencies such as the HSE, it is not good that there has been an unspoken argument between them and the ESB about the release of water from the dam. This must be better managed and releases should occur when tides are low and the rivers can take the water. A combination of swollen rivers and high tides is a catalyst for disaster when one tries to release water from a dam.

After 35 years of waiting, the new relief road for Skibbereen was completed two years ago. At one stage on Friday night, 20 November, this new road was covered in three feet of water, an alarming development on such a new road.

There was some criticism earlier of the Taoiseach's announcement of a €10 million package. He indicated this was the first amount to be allocated to kick-start the fund. Today's Irish Examiner states that only €10 million is being provided, which indicates to me that the reporter concerned was not listening to what the Taoiseach had to say. This type of unnecessary remark can inflame people. The Taoiseach said that as a starting point €10 million will be provided. I am sure more money will be provided in due course.

Senator O'Brien referred to the farming community. There is no doubt that the farming community, be they dairy farmers or subsistence farmers in the west of Ireland or in west Cork depending on REPS and other payments, have had an appalling year. As a farmer's son, my heart goes out to them. I am concerned they are facing into a winter of water-logged land and so on.

There is no doubt that shopkeepers in areas such as Bandon, Skibbereen and Clonakilty have suffered tremendously. This flooding came like a thief in the night. Waters rose suddenly, which nobody expected or could have predicted. Given our planning laws and the forecasting services of Met Éireann we should be able to obtain more advanced warning of flooding. It is obvious to anyone that when the Lee Valley becomes swollen to approximately 18 inches above normal levels and the Bandon River becomes swollen, coming events cast their shadows afore. People should be on the ball.

Thankfully, we did not have flooding in Bandon this time around. However, traditional fishermen and locals involved in seafaring know that a combination of a high tide, heavy rainfall and south-east wind inevitably result in flooding. I am concerned about our early warning system. We are speaking here today about what we can do to assist in this regard. I am not suggesting there is a lot we can do other than to provide whatever assistance we can through Government agencies. Proper warning systems would allow shopkeepers when flooding is expected to move items upstairs or off the premises. Also, people could move furniture upstairs in an effort to minimise any damage. I can only speak about Cork because I have not visited other parts of the country but these floods came like a thief in the night. In these days of forward planning and so on this should not have happened.

I compliment the local authorities, councillors, city workers, firemen, Civil Defence, HSE, Naval Service and volunteers for their tremendous work during this plight. Despite the difficulties we are experiencing and the economic gloom and bad weather this summer, when push came to shove these people came out and worked through the night in difficult conditions to help alleviate the situation.

I believe we should devise a national plan for water management. If one currently exists, it is inadequate. I am concerned about insurance companies refusing to provide insurance cover against flooding. We must introduce legislation to address this because it is not good enough from insurance companies who have made a great deal of money from people living in areas that are likely to be flooded. As far as I am aware approximately 70% of people who take out home insurance never make a claim against it. The insurance companies should not be allowed to refuse cover to people in these areas. People, in particular home owners, must be guaranteed insurance cover until such time as we have in place successful water and flood management such as those in Mallow, Fermoy and Kilkenny. This type of system must be put in place in vulnerable areas such as Cork city and so on. I thank the House for the opportunity to contribute to this debate.