Colm Burke (Fine Gael)

I wish to raise the issue of the recent flooding in Cork city, particularly in Blackpool, north central Cork, which is an old part of the city, Park Court in Ballyvolane and Meadow Brook, Riverstown, which is in the county area. In the first instance, I thank the local authorities for the manner in which they responded to the emergencies that arose. In particular, I thank Cork city and county councils for the manner in which they have approached this problem. However, there is a problem in that some of the areas affected, particularly in Blackpool and Park Court, were unable to get insurance for flood damage and I note extensive damage again occurred in this case. Work had been carried out previously by Cork City Council, under the guidance of the Department and the Office of Public Works, in which culverts were put in place. However, it now appears as though they are inadequate to deal with the increase in the flow of water as a result of the bad weather conditions. This matter must be dealt with immediately to ensure there is no recurrence of what has happened. Small businesses have suffered substantial damage and householders in Park Court ended up with more than five feet of water in their houses. I have shown some of the photographs of the area to the Minister of State and as they demonstrate, the flooding was extremely serious. It is important that the Government respond in a proactive way, working with the local authorities, to try to come to a solution to the problems that exist.

An issue also has arisen in respect of insurance cover, both up to today's date and into the future, for all these areas. For instance, Meadow Brook in Glanmire will not be insurable for flood damage in the future and the question arises as to how this problem will be dealt with. There are a number of issues, the first being that there already was no insurance cover for small businesses and households in the Blackpool and Park Court areas and second, that no insurance cover will be available in the future. The question now arises as to how these problems will be dealt with to prevent a recurrence of the flooding. I visited a number of the affected houses in Park Court and in Meadow Brook in Glanmire in which the water had risen up to the level of the kitchen worktops. It is a fairly frightening experience for everyone involved to have had floods of up to five feet of water.