Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to respond to my Adjournment matter. I raise the matter of the flooding in recent days and in particular flooding in Cork city which was devastated last night. Cork has experienced many flooding events over the years. The two flooding events this week are related to high tides, a lot of rain and winds from the south east. This combination is dynamite for the Cork city area.

When I was a child my father had a shop in Prince's Street in the city centre. The fire brigade often rang at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. to say the place was flooded. He always kept a pair of waders inside the door. Some floods happened as a result of blocked culverts. I am asking for a response from the Minister of State so that I can go back to the traders and householders in Cork and tell them what the Government plans to do. The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, made the point that not everywhere can be protected and I accept that. However, the protection of people's homes and businesses should be prioritised. Priority should be given to the value of the property, not just its monetary value but also value related to the use of the property. Significant funding will be required and the Minister has said it will come sooner rather than at the end of 2016. I hope this will be the case. Rather than a fire-brigade response all the time, we need a long-term plan of action to alleviate and to respond to flooding issues.