Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 November 2004
143 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the flood damage caused in Youghal and Ballynacoda in east Cork; the funding available for flood relief; his plans to safeguard against flooding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27446/04]
View answerPreliminary reports from Cork County Council suggest that approximately 50 homes and 20 business premises were flooded in the Youghal and Ballynacoda areas in east Cork following the severe rainfall in the last days of October.
The Government has approved a humanitarian aid package to relieve hardship arising from the flooding of people's homes. The purpose of the scheme is solely to provide humanitarian assistance to relieve hardship and is not intended to provide compensation for losses. My officials have met with the Irish Red Cross Society, IRCS, who will implement the scheme details of which have been agreed and published in the national and local press in the past two weeks. The closing date for receipt of applications under the scheme is 24 November 2004. The IRCS has considerable experience in this area having previously implemented a number of such schemes in the past for the OPW. I have every confidence that applications will be dealt with in a compassionate, impartial and as timely a manner as possible.
The funding available through the OPW for flood relief activities in 2004 is €20.559 million. The funding which will be available in 2005 is not confirmed yet, but I anticipate that the level of funding will at least remain at current levels. Last month the Government approved the recommendations of the flood policy review group. This confirms the lead role of the OPW in taking a strategic approach to flood management in the future and working in co-operation with the relevant local authorities. Following the recent flooding, OPW will be seeking initial assessments of the situation in the city and county areas of Cork. These assessments will then be considered by OPW under new prioritisation criteria currently being developed by it for all flood relief works as recommended by the flood policy review group.
