Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

First, I acknowledge the apologies I have received from the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring. I have spoken to one of his departmental officials this morning and have been in contact with his private secretary. I have requested a meeting with the Minister and am happy for the Chief Whip, Deputy McHugh, who is also a Deputy for Donegal, to be present at that meeting because this is now an urgent matter which requires urgent attention from the Government.

I will paint the picture for the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly. Buncrana is a town of significant size but can he imagine any town in Ireland in which the main park, which is beloved by and rooted in the community, where families and the elderly go walking and where partnerships with schools, environmental groups and Tidy Towns groups are developed based on this amenity, has been utterly destroyed? Just up the road there are major sporting amenities which have been utterly destroyed, including the destruction of a number of pitches at Cockhill Celtic. It is two months since the flooding but I have had to raise the matter in the Seanad again and again to get someone in government to grapple with the issue. That is how serious it is. The major park and sporting amenities have been destroyed in one community while nothing is being done about it by central government. That is why I am going to keep raising this every week, with the permission of the Cathaoirleach, until I get someone to grasp how serious the issue is and to grapple with it.

A second issue is Glenevin Waterfall in Clonmany, a beautiful amenity which was developed by the local people and includes a riverside walk up to a wonderful waterfall. It is part of the tourism offering in Inishowen and is beloved by the local community. While they have worked to put it back in place, they need help and funding. I acknowledge that the Government has stepped up with some of the relief schemes. I acknowledge that Ministers came to Donegal very quickly when this crisis happened. However, there is a sense that two months later, with the cameras moving on, major gaps exist which are not being addressed.

Swan Park in Buncrana, Glenevin Waterfall in Clonmany and Cockhill Celtic Football Club are massive issues. I am not taking a parish-pump approach to it. I am being realistic when I point out that there is no other community in Ireland that would be abandoned in the way we have been in respect of our major amenities. I ask the Government to understand that. I ask the Minister, Deputy Ring, to meet me as soon as possible, address the issue and provide once-off emergency funding to get these amenities up and running again.That is my appeal to the Minister of State. I have passed this message to the Minister, Deputy Ring, through his parliamentary assistant, private secretary and departmental officials. I hope to get a face-to-face meeting as soon as possible.