I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the problem of flooding in Clonmel. I wish to convey to the Minister the anger, hurt, frustration and annoyance of the flood victims at the unacceptable delay in the publication of the expert report on the causes of the exceptional flooding in Clonmel. I wish to stress my embarrassment at the inhuman, uncaring and delaying tactics of the Government on this matter. This is a sad example of a political response to a traumatic and harrowing experience.
Why has the report not been published? While my party was in Government my colleague, Deputy Coveney, having visited Clonmel during the flooding, insisted on commissioning an independent investigation into the causes of the flooding and possible solutions to the problem. I understand that this report was ready to be presented to the Department in June. However, although in the intervening four months there have been promises of publication, they have been broken. The last promise was given by the Minister of State, Deputy Davern, who indicated in a letter dated 3 October that the report would be published in a week.
The last excuse given was that the report was being updated to take account of the most recent flooding in August. I remind the Government that as recently as last week the flood victims continued to experience the trauma of having flood water at their doorsteps. Fortunately, it did not flood the houses on this occasion. If the Minister wishes to delay publication to update the report for the latest flooding I guarantee there will be plenty of examples to take into account unless the Government solves the problem because one flood will follow another.
There is suspicion in Clonmel why the report is being delayed. We want the report in full giving the unvarnished truth. We will accept nothing less and we will wait no longer. While the Minister and his officials update the report on the recent floods in Clonmel, the people there live in fear of the next downpour. Yet, there has not been a word from the Department since January when the most serious flooding took place. There have been no consultations, meetings or communications. The people in Clonmel are the victims and the Minister's silence is a further blow.
To add insult to injury the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Deputy Cullen, gave a verbal commitment that he would attend the 7 October meeting of Clonmel Corporation. We looked forward to meeting him because we thought it would be an up-front meeting. He did not honour his commitment. He left the public representatives and the victims of the flooding with nothing to look forward to. Of course, he was accompanied then by television cameras and reporters. In January 1996, at the height of the flooding, the Taoiseach, accompanied by cameramen, visited Clonmel to view the flooding. Nobody will visit Clonmel now. We want to know what is causing the flooding and what solutions are being offered.
I speak from the heart and remind the Minister of the trauma and fear the people of Clonmel are suffering. There is no word from the Government on the causes of the flooding or a solution to that problem.
