I wish to raise the issue of the flooding that took place in East Wall, North Wall and Ringsend last weekend. I ask the Minister to outline his plans for dealing with the hardship that has been experienced and the damage that has been caused. It has been a disaster. The Minister will have heard on the "Morning Ireland" radio programme how businesses in the enterprise units off Ossory Road have been flooded and the amount of damage that has been caused to the business sector. People's houses have been structurally damaged, as have furniture and other valuables. Floorboards have to be taken up and people have had to leave their homes. Hundreds of people are living in makeshift and temporary accommodation and many people's lives have been ruined.
Some people had their homes insured, but many others did not. Many people were underinsured and their contents were not insured. This is particularly true of elderly people – there is a relatively large elderly population in the area. In the short-term, the local authority and other relevant agencies are attempting to deal with the problem. A large meeting took place in East Wall last night. Another meeting at Shamrock Cottages on North Strand will take place this evening. Various services are on standby to deal with emergencies and circumstances that arise.
The humanitarian aid package being run by the Red Cross presumably is in place. The provision of it was announced at the meeting last night. I am not sure how bottomless that package is or the extent of it. I would like the Minister of State to indicate the amount of money that will be available, given that a large amount will be required to make good the damage caused.
Another issue is the circumstances that caused the flood. We know there was an unusually high tide. A tidal wave came up to the Liffey and into the Royal Canal and we are aware of its impact, but there is the question of whether its impact could have been considerably lessened. The land around the canal where the flooding occurred, whether at Shamrock Cottages or East Wall, belongs to CIE, the land around the canal is the responsibility of the Office of Public Works and the situation in Ringsend is somewhat different.
CIE demolished a wall on North Strand and if it had not done so, no flooding would have taken place in that area. That serious situation must be examined. From all reports, another wall where businesses are located in the area was damaged. CIE had weakened that wall. A stronger wall was in place in the past, but CIE had removed certain sections of it. Further down in Blythe Avenue at East Wall, a make-shift door in the wall burst open with the force of the water and the houses in the area were flooded. They were flooded in the front through the exit in that wall and in the back from the Ossory Road exit. When the flood water was at its highest in the CIE marshalling yard, according to the local people, the gates were opened in Abercorn Road, which is another part of East Wall, to let the water out of the CIE property and it immediately flooded the houses in the area. All that needs to be investigated.
Of all the State agencies, representatives of CIE have not been around that area for the past week. No representative of CIE had made an appearance, good bad or indifferent. CIE personnel were working at the time of the floods, but they made no effort to assist in putting sandbags in place. Members of the local authority, the Garda, Civil Defence and the other relevant agencies helped out, but the CIE personnel disappeared, even though they had bulldozers in the area and could have helped considerably. Questions must be asked about that.
Considering that flooding may occur again in this area, given that the advent of global warming indicates it is likely, measures must be put in place to address it. There must be a full investigation of the causes of the flooding and, in particular, recommendations must be made to ensure such a major disaster does not occur again.
