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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 30 Sep 2003

Vol. 571 No. 1

Mayo Landslide.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The matters raised by Deputies Ring and Cowley will be taken together. Each Deputy has five minutes and the Minister of State will have ten minutes.

I am disappointed that neither the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, nor the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, is present tonight for this debate. I would like to offer my sympathies to the people of north Mayo, particularly the people of Glengad, Dooncarton, Barnacullen and Pollathomas, who suffered a terrible tragedy earlier this month.

I would like to stress to the House and the people of Ireland that this was a terrible tragedy for many families and for the local community. I was disappointed that I needed to call on a Minister to visit the site of the accident. The landslide took place on a Friday night, but the Government was not represented at the scene until the following Tuesday, following my appeal the previous day. Members will recall a famous photograph that was published after there was some flooding in Dublin last year. I do not refer to the photograph of the Minister, Deputy McDowell, climbing a pole but to the photograph of the Taoiseach wearing wellingtons and a long coat. He had a sad face for the people of Dublin.

I went up the pole to escape the flooding.

I was disappointed that neither the Taoiseach nor any other Minister came to meet the people of north Mayo before the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, decided to do so. I am disappointed that such disrespect was shown to the people who suffered. This was not just a national tragedy, but an international tragedy. Many families had to leave their homes as a result of this very serious incident and some of them have not yet returned. I was glad to be able to call out the public services on the Friday night and to be present at the scene on the Saturday.

Before I talk about the tragedy itself, I would like to thank Mayo County Council, the ESB, the Garda Síochána, the Civil Defence, the coast guards and any other voluntary organisations I have omitted for their commitment and bravery. I would like in particular to thank Michael J. Carolan, a local man who, with his young daughter, placed his car in the middle of the road that night to flash down other motorists. He saved them from drowning. Given the amount of water that flowed down the mountain and the amount of damage that was done, including the collapse of bridges and roads, it is amazing there were no fatalities. I am delighted nobody died. I compliment Mr. Carolan and all those involved in the voluntary services. I thank RTE and Marian Finucane, who broadcast her radio programme from the area today. Very little national coverage was given to the landslide. The traffic in Dublin was held up for a few hours last year when there was a bit of snow there, and this was mentioned on every news programme for the following three or four days.

This terrible tragedy affected many families. I would like to mention what I saw on Saturday, 20 September. Headstones were carried into a river. People never thought that their loved ones' graves would be washed away by a terrible flood. It was sad to see people crying because they had to leave their homes. It was sad to see so many people disturbed by this terrible storm. The people of north Mayo have received a great deal of sympathy from others throughout the country, but the time for sympathy has passed and other things are needed.

I am disappointed no senior Minister is present to respond to my comments. The absence of such a Minister shows what the Government thinks about north Mayo and rural Ireland. If this landslide had taken place in Dublin, Ministers would be crawling out of every corner with money in their pockets and they would hand it out the next day. This tragedy does not seem to matter, however, because it took place in rural Ireland.

I would like a package of compensation to be put in place for those who lost their homes and their stock. Those who had to leave their homes should also be compensated. I would like the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to make funding available to repair the limited amount of infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, in the area. I would like national and European funding to be made available immediately. The time for sympathy is over and action is needed. I call on the Government to announce tonight, in the Minister of State's response, that a package will be put in place for the time being – we can come back later to get what we really need.

Money is needed to help the people affected by this landslide. Some people will not be able to return to their homes. This will mean that they will no longer be able to live in the area in which they were born and reared. Some of the damage that was done cannot be repaired, but some compensation should be offered to those who have lost stock, land and their homes. All parts of the country should be treated equally. I am delighted people in Dublin received their rightful compensation when they suffered a tragedy, and the people of the west deserve equal treatment.

I would love to see the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Taoiseach, for example, in County Mayo, even at this late stage. They could fly from Dublin in a helicopter tomorrow to see the damage for themselves. Perhaps the Minister, Deputy McDowell, will fight for us at the Cabinet table, as the rest of the Government has let us down.

I hope we will hear positive and good news tonight. I compliment and thank the voluntary organisations and the county council for the excellent services they provided. I assure the people of north Mayo that I will keep fighting for them in this House each week until a proper package is put in place.

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this very important matter. Tá áthas orm a bheith anseo inniu, mar tá sé an-tábhachtach go mbeidh rud éigin práinneach déanta ar son mhuintir Mhaigh Eo. This is an extremely important issue. It is amazing that this incident took place in north-east Mayo, which has been shown to be the poorest socio-economic area in Ireland. Professor Séamus Caulfield has spelled out in his studies that nobody will be living in the area by the end of the century if present trends continue. Successive Governments over the years have contributed to a lack of balanced regional development. The area has been bleeding for many years and it seems that it has now been mortally wounded. The Government should do something about it, but it has not responded so far.

I am speaking in this debate tonight on behalf of the people of County Mayo who elected me, particularly the people of the area in which the landslide took place. The effects of the landslide can be seen on television, but it is said that "seeing is believing" and one cannot appreciate how bad the damage is if one does not see it with one's own eyes. I echo Deputy Ring's call for Ministers to see it for themselves. The wonderful spirit of the people of the region shone through when this terrible disaster took place. People from all parts of the county helped out. Some people tried to locate the remains of their relatives, which had been buried under mounds of debris. The fact that the remains of almost half a dozen people were washed out to sea, never to be found again, is terrible.

I have to say that the local services were magnificent. I have often castigated Mayo County Council's planning decisions and its bureaucratic approach, but it proved that it could deliver the goods for the people of the area when this crisis presented itself. The local authority, from management level to the truly magnificent outdoor staff, was not found wanting. I commend the actions of the ESB, the Civil Defence and coastal rescue workers, all of whom helped the people and were magnificent. Such organisations have limited funds, however.

A proper fund is needed to address the effects of the landslide. I saw 20-foot gorges that were gouged from the side of a field and a tractor that was flipped like a coin down a field. This was in an area where a house had been demolished by a 20 foot torrent coming down the mountain and washing everything before it. It was fortunate that this disaster occurred at night because if it had happened during the day many people would have been lost.

I saw at least 20 areas where the whole mountainside had dropped to sea level. I could see soil washed miles out to sea. The land is no more and the people who treasured it and depended on it need compensation, not only from the local authority but also from central Government. The Government and the Red Cross must help the people of north Mayo as the people of Dublin were helped. This disaster was the biggest ever in Ireland. Other EU countries were compensated for disasters and the people affected by this are no less worthy of compensation.

The graveyard resembled a scene from a horror film. One saw tombstones tossed, graves gone and people frantically searching for their loves ones. I saw a woman sitting outside her house and crying because of the shock she had received, for the land that was no more, for her frightened children, for the future, for a chance to stay in an area which she knew could be no more, for the fact that she would have to leave her house because the area is devastated and there is no future there. What help will that woman get? She got help from the local authority and from the emergency services but, as with a bereavement, everyone will go away and she will be left to cope with her loss. The loss is truly astronomical but it is not recognised.

That woman needs counselling, as do her family and many others. Where is the counselling for these people? These are a displaced people in an area that is already wounded. I have spoken on many occasions in this House about north west Mayo, which Séamus Caulfield has described as the most socio-economically depressed area of Ireland. My call for a special tax incentive scheme for that area fell on deaf ears. I hope my appeal tonight for proper compensation for this area does not also fall on deaf ears.

I call for a multi-million euro effort. It has been estimated that the public damage amounts to €3 million and the private damage to €7 million. This area has been neglected over the years. Let it be neglected no more or there will not be a sinner left in it.

I join the Deputies in expressing sympathy on my own behalf and on behalf of the Government to everyone affected by the recent landslides in County Mayo. This has been a very traumatic time for everyone involved.

Following a torrential downpour on Friday night, 19 September, a large amount of land slid down the side of the mountains in the Glengad, Pollathomas and Barnacullen areas of north Mayo, causing serious damage to roads, bridges, water and power supplies and the local cemetery. The damage was caused, essentially, by a flood of liquified peat. A considerable number of houses were at risk and one suffered serious damage with a number of others suffering lesser damage. One bridge was washed away and serious damage was done to a number of other bridges and to road surfaces.

I wish to record my appreciation of the immediate and professional response of the emergency services and staff of Mayo County Council, and of the many volunteers who assisted, without which the suffering endured would have been even greater. I would like to have visited the area that weekend but unfortunately, for personal reasons, that was not possible. However, I made contact with a number of people I know in the area from my days as an MEP when I represented County Mayo and I was kept fully informed by my party colleagues, Deputies Carty and Cooper-Flynn. In addition, after his visit to the area, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, made a presentation to Government and the Government is fully aware of the serious situation.

My Department has received a detailed report from a senior departmental official who visited the area on the extent and nature of the damage to roads and bridges. I understand Mayo County Council has engaged consultant geologists to assess the risk of futher landslips and to advise on precautionary and remedial action. Some interim repairs of infrastructure have already been put in place by Mayo County Council and the ESB.

In such incidents human suffering is, of course, the first consideration. I am well aware of the serious effect of the landslide and the threat of further damage has had on the housing conditions of the people involved. Some of those forced to move from their homes will be in a position to stay with friends or relatives but there will, no doubt, be a certain number for whom this course of action is not an option. I am glad to say that Mayo County Council has already housed 16 families in emergency accommodation under homeless legislation – mainly in local bed and breakfast accommodation – and will continue to do so in the short-term until the families can either move back home or provide themselves with more suitable longer-term housing. My Department will recoup to the council 90% of the cost of providing the emergency accommodation. I can assure Deputies that the traumatic effects of the landslide on the people involved need not be exacerbated by the threat of homelessness. The health board community welfare officers will assist affected households by making urgent needs payments.

The damage caused to roads and bridges was considerable. The council has submitted a preliminary breakdown of the estimated cost of repairing the damage to roads, bridges and water mains and my Department is examining ways and means of providing resources to assist with these costs.

As the area affected by the landslide is in a CLÁR area it should also be possible to secure CLÁR funding. It is envisaged that any consideration of an assistance package will be carried out jointly by the Ministers for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

We intend, therefore, that the more permanent reinstatement of infrastructures will be addressed under the non-national roads programme adminstered by my Department and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, on the basis of detailed assessments and of the developing situation. The scope and nature of the assistance required will be determined in this context.

There have been suggestions that the Government should apply for EU disaster relief funding. However, assistance under the EU Solidarity Fund is only available in the case of a major disaster.

This was a major disaster.

While the events in north Mayo were undoubtedly serious for those directly concerned, they would not be considred an EU scale major disaster, for which the monetary threshold relates to damage of €3 billion. There is no question of differentiating between Mayo and other places. The threshold is fixed at €3 billion.

My Department and the Government will examine ways in which the infrastructure of the area can be made good, necessary precautions to avoid a recurrence put in place and the hardship alleviated. I fully appreciate the seriousness of what happened in north Mayo on 19 September. The Government has been fully informed by my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, and the other Deputies who have visited the area. Everything possible will be done as soon as possible to assist and alleviate the problems of those affected by the landslides.

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