Vol. 450 No. 7
39 Miss de Valera asked the Minister for Finance if he will report on his meeting in Brussels on 9 March 1995, to secure funds to deal with the recent floods in Ireland; and the proportion of funds he has secured to deal with the flooding crisis in County Clare. [5737/95]
While in Brussels on 9 March 1995 I met with the Secretary General of the EU Commission and made an oral and written presentation to him on the need for assistance for the relief of the hardship and distress caused by the recent and prolonged flooding in many parts of the country. Although no specific commitment was given in relation to what funding exactly would be made available, I was assured that EU support would be substantial and their response speedy. I would envisage that any assistance rendered would be administered by the Irish Red Cross Society.
I also met with the Chef de Cabinet to the Commissioner of Social Affairs, Mr. Flynn, on the question of the EU initiative to support flood preventive measures in the EU as a whole and specifically Ireland. I was advised that the EU was in fact preparing a report on the longer term aspects of flood prevention and that it was hoped that an initiative, which would provide for the situation here, would be brought forward shortly.
