Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I compliment the Minister of State on his initiatives and that he was out in the communities, which I know was deeply appreciated. Fortunately, those of us in Leitrim escaped the worst excesses of the flooding on this occasion, although in previous years Carrick-on-Shannon had been isolated to some degree, particularly on the relief road, because of its close proximity to the Shannon, although as the Minister already knows, further down the Shannon and around Athlone in particular there is a great deal of flooding.

I reiterate what has been said by all of us on this side of the House, namely, that we in Fianna Fáil fully support the Government's measures and proposals in addressing this national crisis. However, we believe there should be more adequate information transfers between the Office of Public Works, OPW, and the insurance industry to help homeowners access home insurance after flood defences have been rectified.

Fianna Fáil is also looking at fresh legislation to help uninsured people based on measures in the UK, which I will deal with shortly. The impact of the weather also underlines the need for an enhanced task force and emergency planning to take the lead in setting out our preparation for storms and a rapid response.

Much of the emphasis has been on the south, the west and the south east, and rightly so, specifically with regard to Cork. I read in the newspapers last week that one of the reasons Cork is susceptible to frequent flooding is because the location of the city is like a saucer. Senator Landy made a similar reference in regard to Tipperary, namely, that once the water tips over into the saucer, it cannot get out.