We now proceed to discuss the matter which Deputy Jim Higgins adverted to today. He asked me for permission to raise on the Adjournment the subject matter of the need for the Minister for the Environment to make financial provision for the payment of compensation for flood damage to non-insured properties in County Mayo.
Mayo Flood Damage.
I want to thank you very sincerely, a Cheann Comhairle, for agreeing to have this matter discussed before the House this evening. With your permission and with the agreement of the House, I would like to offer some of my time to my colleague from Mayo, Deputy Enda Kenny.
Is that satisfactory? Agreed.
The weekend of 27, 28 and 29 October was one of the most devastating in the history of County Mayo and particularly for the residents of Crossmolina. Twenty four hours of incessant rainfall led to a deluge which literally left Church Street, Chapel Road and Erris Street, Crossmolina, under almost five feet of water. Houses, businesses and properties were under water for over 24 hours but thankfully there was no loss of life. The Minister is aware of the problem because he visited the area to see it at first hand. I, like other people who also visited the scene, want to pay tribute to the local authority, Mayo County Council, for the marvellous relief work they carried out and in particular to the Mayo fire service which, above and beyond the call of duty, did enormous work, first, in ensuring that there was minimum danger to life and property and, secondly, in ensuring that the flood waters were taken away as soon as possible. They literally worked around the clock and they did us all proud in ensuring that the minimum discomfort ensued for those involved.
Unfortunately, however, the damage was quite substantial. The total estimate of damage for the town of Crossmolina alone is £352,000. I can assure the Minister that this is a reasonably accurate assessment of the damage. This assessment was carried out by a monitoring committee headed by an extremely responsible group of people who handed out survey sheets, monitored and assessed the degree of damage at first and second hand and ensured that no inflated figure was arrived at. Fortunately, £230,000 worth of the damaged property was insured but, unfortunately, damage to the tune of £122,000 was sustained by uninsured property holders. One business, for example, sustained losses of over £15,000. The average losses for householders vary between £6,000 and £8,000 which is considerable. This is an extreme disadvantage to people who are very average, ordinary citizens. These people, without notice or any prior warning, were faced with having to carry out relatively substantial works to their properties arising from circumstances totally outside their control.
There are 20 individuals involved in Crossmolina alone but, as the Minister will be aware, there are also other individuals scattered throughout the length and breadth of the county who, unfortunately, have not received anything like the publicity that ensued in the case of Crossmolina, Newport, Westport or Ballina. These people have been considerably disadvantaged and have had to fork out considerable amounts of money to carry out the necessary remedial works. The vast majority of them are not insured but that is through no fault of their own. The reason for this is that they have gone to insurance companies but, because of similar occurrences in the past or because of their proximity to rivers which have overflowed on previous occasions, the insurance companies simply will not give them the necessary cover. It is the plight of these people in particular that we want to highlight in the House this evening.
I know the Minister will be receiving a deputation from Crossmolina tomorrow. That deputation will be under-pinning and substantiating the case we put before the House tonight. In the light of these events, Deputy Kenny and I brought before the House last week two questions in relation to possible compensation for these people. The Minister gave a fairly long and detailed reply in relation to the overall position but unfortunately the final paragraph of the reply states: "There are no funds available to me to compensate for any damage to private properties occasioned by the flooding". That has a fairly ominous ring to it and particularly so when one considers that the Minister's only redress seems to be that he is looking to the task force on special housing aid for the elderly to remedy the householders' living conditions.
The special task force for the elderly is under the jurisdiction of the Western Health Board which is already working with greatly diminished resources and in this case it is not the answer. What we are asking is that the Minister do what was done a number of years ago in relation to the Dodder flooding when, thanks to the Minister for the Environment on that occasion, Dublin Corporation received a total grant of £185,000 in order to enable contractors to carry out essential remedial works to buildings on Anglesea Road. What we want is the Minister to agree to the principle of compensation for the people of his native Mayo. We are more than optimistic that the news the Minister will give to the deputation tomorrow will include this general principle.
I again want to thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for enabling me to raise this matter. At this juncture I should like to facilitate my colleague, Deputy Enda Kenny.
I want to thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for allowing this matter to be raised on the Adjournment and to thank Deputy Higgins for giving me a portion of his time. I also want to thank my colleague from County Mayo, the Minister for the Environment, for coming in here to listen to the debate and to give his response.
I want to endorse everything Deputy Higgins has said in this regard. We cannot determine the weather conditions and nobody is to blame for the exceptionally heavy rainfall in County Mayo during the October bank holiday weekend. I am well aware that the Minister for the Environment understands intimately the problems which have arisen as a consequence of the severe flooding and that he has received a report from Mayo County Council which sets out in general terms the consequences of the severe weather conditions. I also know that the county council do not have legal responsibility for the damage caused, except in terms of road conditions and road maintenance, and it would not be their desire to become involved in any intricacies beyond that.
I endorse what Deputy Higgins said about the people from Crossmolina and Ballina who were not insured. I request an explanation why, when there was a precedent in 1986 for special funding in respect of the Dodder and the Little Bray areas, this type of funding cannot be given to needy and hardship cases in County Mayo.
I should like to draw to the Minister's attention to two cases of which he is well aware. I recently attended a meeting of an action committee from the Kilmeena area of Westport at which this matter was discussed. This meeting was also attended by Deputy O'Toole from Louisburgh, who is also present in the House. I understand the Minister for the Environment visited the area in question. There were landslides in both cases and the consequences were unique in the context of the damage to households that weekend. A technical report from consultants has been received and sent to the Minister for the Environment on one of these cases. This report deems it necessary that a budget of at least £30,000 to £35,000 will be required to provide a retaining wall to stop the movement of soil from a hillside on to the commercial premises concerned. I should point out that the proprietors of that premises are in no way interested in compensation in respect of the building which was separately insured. The Minister also visited the farm involved in the second case where a very large landslide caused damage of between £80,000 to £100,000. This landslide had to be seen to be actually believed.
I would impress upon the Minister the necessity to deal in a different way with these two unique and isolated cases. The Minister can take it that whatever he does in this regard will be fully backed by all the public representatives from the area. I do not understand from the reply given on 21 November why, when a precedent exists for funding in cases like this, similar arrangements cannot be made for the appropriate amount necessary in both these cases. I am sure the Minister for the Environment understands the representations which have been made to Deputy O'Toole, Deputy Higgins, Deputy Morley, the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, myself and others in this regard and that he will take these representations into account when he is making a final decision in the matter.
Firstly, I should like to thank my colleagues, Deputy Higgins and Deputy Kenny, for raising this matter. I am sure they have expressed the views of my colleague from West Mayo, Deputy O'Toole, on these matters. I want to assure all the Deputies that I share their concern for the people who have been affected by the very severe weather conditions experienced in parts of County Mayo and other parts of the country during the October bank holiday weekend.
As Deputy Higgins rightly said, I have first hand knowledge of the problem in most parts of County Mayo, which appears to have been the area most severely affected by the bad weather conditions. I have witnessed some of the difficulties. I understand, for example, that the rainfall recorded in Belmullet on the Friday and Saturday of that weekend exceeded the rainfall which would normally be experienced in that area for the entire month of October. This big downpour caused a lot of damage.
Both I and, at my request, officials from my Department were in contact with the local authorities in the worst affected areas during that weekend. They were advised of the general position in those areas and the action which the local authorities were taking to alleviate the difficulties. I am perfectly satisfied that the various local authorities responded magnificently, very quickly and effectively during the period in question. I, too, would like to commend them for the way in which they carried out their functions on that occasion. I witnessed the workforce of Mayo County Council and the fire brigade in action and one could only have the highest of praise for the efficient and effective way they dealt with the worst of the flooding. We are all at one on that.
Reports have been received in the Department about the extent of the damage to all the public roads and bridges. The question of providing special funds for the restoration of public roads and bridges affected by the flooding will be considered when all the reports have been received and assessed. I intend to examine the reports in the near future and to decide what special funds for remedial works to roads and bridges are warranted. I should point out to the Deputies that other counties suffered as well during that particular weekend. I do not know what funds are available to me at present but I will look at these cases in as favourably a way as I can. This area of County Mayo suffered very badly and I will be looking as sympathetically as I can at these cases.
With regard to housing it is as well to say here that we have had no reports on the extensive damage which the Deputies say occurred on that occasion, but I am meeting a deputation from one area tomorrow. This was not the only area affected; Ballina and some isolated areas around Newport — there was a very serious case in the Newport area — and the Westport area were also affected. I am meeting that deputation tomorrow and I will hear at first hand their attitudes and opinions on the matter.
The funding provided in 1986 in respect of the damage caused by the flooding of the Dodder has been mentioned by both Deputies. This is a case in point. This funding which was made available by the Department related exclusively to remedying extensive damage which was caused to housing and the accommodation of persons who, as a result of the severe flooding, were faced with very severe hardship and had to leave their homes for long periods of time. Householders would normally be expected to have their property and its contents insured properly against losses, flooding and adverse weather conditions. While it is of no comfort to the two Deputies opposite, they know full well that there is no fund available to the Minister from which compensation for damage to private property can be paid. Such a fund does not exist. We must not minimise the role the Western Health Board can play in this regard. They have funds which were made available to them by the Department of the Environment to deal with these emergencies so far as elderly people are concerned. I will be advising the deputation about this tomorrow.
With regard to the compensation for losses of the kind mentioned in so far as livestock, disruption of business and loss of livelihood are concerned, this is the responsibility of another Minister. It is not my responsibility, and I am not just passing it on to anybody else. I have to put it clearly on the record that in so far as business premises are concerned, it is a very long established practice that the Exchequer cannot meet the losses incurred by businesses as a result of their being uninsured. That is not just my opinion or the attitude of this Government, it is the attitude which has existed since the very start, and has never been broken. The same attitude existed and was recognised by the Fine Gael/Labour Coalition Government in their response, for example, to Hurricane Charlie. There is no advantage to be gained by my quoting letters written by senior politicians and leaders of the Coalition Government at that time explaining that position in very explicit terms to Deputies and organisations throughout the country. That particular attitude has never been broken and it is not recommended that I do so now.
Having explained the position so far as commercial property, compensation, the loss of livelihood or any other adverse consequences are concerned, I have to say that I am concerned about the whole business and I intend to look as carefully as I can at the resources which are available to me to make good whatever damage has been caused. Something will be done in this respect. I am satisfied so far as our infrastructure there is concerned and I will listen very carefully to what the deputation have to say tomorrow.
I thank the Deputies for raising this matter and if there are any funds available to me for the specific areas they have mentioned I will use them to the best advantage possible. I cannot go any further until such time as the assessments are completed. The Deputies will hear the news at that time.
The Dáil adjourned at 11 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 6 December 1989.