Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 7 Feb 2001

Vol. 530 No. 1

Adjournment Debate. - Compensation for Flood Damage.

Mr. Healy

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment and I thank the Minister of State for coming in to reply to it.

The reason for raising this matter is to appeal to the Minister to find a way in which a small group of small and part-time farmers in the Skeheenarinky-Burncourt area of south Tipperary can be compensated for significant loss they suffered as a result of flash flooding on 16 May. The loss incurred is small compared to the money available to the Exchequer. It is in the region of £60,000 and 25 small farmers are involved, which is an average of over £2,000 per farmer.

On 16 May 2000 extensive flooding occurred in the Burncourt-Skeheenarinky area of south Tipperary which resulted in extensive damage to property, agricultural land, roads and bridges. High rainfall intensity over a short duration resulted in a large surface run-off from the Galtee Mountains. This caused a number of landslides north of Burncourt and large quantities of tree stumps, trees, logs, stones and so on were washed down the mountainside. Damage costing some £.75 million was caused to local roads, bridges and so on. The resulting repairs were carried out by South Tipperary County Council. As a result of the flash flood, the River Tar burst its banks and the raging torrent washed away bags of fertiliser, swept away silage fields, ruined grass and deposited rocks and debris of all kinds in its wake. It also swept away cattle and sheep. One elderly man in the area described the damage as the worst he had seen in his lifetime.

The local Teagasc office assessed the damage caused to the 25 farmers involved. To give an indication of the loss sustained, in one case there was a loss of 25 ewes and 48 lambs; loss of cattle and 12 lambs; loss of a calf, silage and receding of silage and grassed areas. The number of people affected is very small. While the amount of money is small in national terms, it is significant for the farmers involved. The Red Cross is administering a scheme regarding flooding that occurred between 5 and 7 November. There was extensive flooding in the south Tipperary area on that occasion also. I appeal to the Minister to use that scheme or some other vehicle to give reasonable financial compensation to the farmers involved. It may not be possible for the Minister to respond positively tonight and, if that is the case, I ask him to consider the matter in the next few days and make some arrangement for the financial compensation of the individuals involved.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Mr. Cullen)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to reply to this issue. A number of matters were raised by the Deputy. I am much clearer now on the specifics of the issue and am certain it is an agricultural matter as distinct from one that should come into my area.

The flood to which the Deputy refers occurred on 16 May 2000 in the Burncourt-Skeheenarinky area. In the immediate aftermath, the local authority prepared a report on the flood. The matter was raised in this House by way of parliamentary question and subsequently my officials visited the area in question. The rain storm that caused the flood was not widespread and was quite localised. The consequent flood event was, in the main, caused by logs and debris being washed into the stream, blocking bridges and reducing the flow capacity of the channel. It is fair to say that a most unusual combination of circumstances caused this damage. The local authority report mentioned damage to bridges and roads in the area. It did not, to my knowledge, mention significant or widespread damage to homes. That is also quite clear from what the Deputy said. He spoke of animals and crops. That is a separate issue and entirely a matter for the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development.

By way of background, I should explain that the Government decision to put a humanitarian aid scheme in place followed geographically widespread and severe flooding in November 2000. This flood devastated many areas in the south, south-east and east. The Government decided to implement a humanitarian aid scheme to assist people who suffered severe hardship as a result of flooding around the country and requested the Irish Red Cross Society to administer the scheme. The operation of the scheme was similar to that for previous humanitarian schemes operated in 1995 and 1996. It should be emphasised that it was humanitarian aid being provided to relieve hardship, not a scheme of compensation for losses, and that it applied solely to the flooding of 5 to 7 November 2000. The following were the steps involved in implementing the scheme. The Office of Public Works formally requested the Irish Red Cross Society to administer the scheme on behalf of the Government. The Irish Red Cross Society advertised in the national daily newspapers. Application forms issued to each applicant. All respondents were interviewed and assessed by the Red Cross, as was the case on previous occasions. The scheme was open to all who were affected by the flood of 5 to 7 November and was not confined to any geographical location or group.

Applicants who were affected had to prove hardship under one of the following headings in order to qualify for aid: death, serious injury, homelessness, damage to home, loss of income or extreme hardship. The Red Cross Society requested that completed application forms be returned to it by mid-December in order to make the earliest possible determination of the extent of the hardship endured, that is, numbers and geographical spread of claimants and to establish the level of funding required to assist affected householders and others to get back on their feet.

The Government is satisfied that the Red Cross has the required experience and expertise in dealing compassionately, impartially and effectively with the disbursement of such humanitarian assistance. Every effort is made to ensure that the various applicants' cases were assessed as speedily as possible and I am happy that the Irish Red Cross Society completed its assessment of applications received under this scheme and has submitted its report to me. I expect the Red Cross to be in a position to make the necessary payments in the next few days. The Irish Red Cross Society will prepare a report on its administration of the humanitarian aid scheme for Government in due course which will include, inter alia, the breakdown of payments on a county by county basis. I am certain that the Deputy's county will be represented in that regard.

From the information available to me I am satisfied that the flooding in Burncourt-Skeheenarinky could not be considered for the humanitarian aid package.

The issues the Deputy raised are quite specific but it was somewhat related to the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, and I do not have any involvement in the loss of animals or crops as a result of flooding.