Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

I thank Senator O'Toole for sharing time with me.

The Government's response to the flooding in Cork has been poor, particularly its response to the draft Lee Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management Study. I would like answers to specific questions. Why is the Government refusing to invest €100 million in the provision of flood relief in Cork, as recommended in the report? It is imperative that the Government sanction the investment in flood relief for Cork city and that the work be carried out immediately. The €100 million required to build a defence system to reduce the risk of tidal and river flooding in Cork is a very small sum. It is very small change to the people of the Middle Parish, Mardyke and Western Road who were flooded last November. What will we do in ten months, ten years or 20 years if the flooding recurs? I welcome the fact the ESB, using its two dams, will have an enhanced role in flood risk management but the Government must invest in the defences, thus saving money in the future.

Eighty thousand people in Cork, half the city, had no drinking water for seven to ten days during the flooding. Is this acceptable in 21st-century Ireland? No matter what we say tonight, we must acknowledge investment in flood relief in the city of Cork will pay dividends in years to come. The people and the city are worth the money. One should bear in mind the cumulative cost of addressing the problems in the university, residences and businesses in Cork as a result of our failure to invest. We must invest in the future. The tenet of the motion is about investing in the future. If we are shortsighted, it is the people of Cork who will suffer.

The sum of €100 million, required to protect the city of Cork and its people at all costs, is very small. It is good value and makes economic sense. The investment requires a political decision by the Government. If it is serious about the people of Cork and the city, it will make the investment. If Dublin were flooded, there would be an avalanche of Ministers on the plinth of Leinster House shouting and roaring about the money to be invested in the city. Since it is Cork that was affected rather than Dublin, there is reluctance to invest. I appeal to the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Finneran, and the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Mansergh, to invest €100 million to the benefit of the city and people of Cork.