I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise this matter and cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit.
Flood Relief.
I welcome Senator Buttimer's dad, Jerry Buttimer Senior, to the Visitors Gallery.
The events of 19 November will not be forgotten in the city of Cork, in particular in the Middle Parish which was submerged in water. The difficulty lies in the fact that there are no answers to why it was submerged, why the area flooded and why the quay walls at Grenville Place collapsed. I raised the matter of the quay walls with the Minister of State, Deputy Martin Mansergh, earlier this month. However, questions remain unanswered. There must be clarity on the discharge of water. The expectant rate of discharge was 250 cubic metres but it rose to 535 cubic metres. Why did the ESB reveal at 4 p.m. that it had to increase the level of discharge? Fine Gael has been consistent on this issue, through councillors on Cork City Council to Deputy Phil Hogan and me. We need an independent inquiry to delve into the matter and come up with a solution to ensure such an incident, in so far as humanly possible, will never happen again in Cork and to put in place a management structure to ensure the 100 residents of the Middle Parish who were displaced will never have to go through this again.
The compelling case for an independent investigation into the flooding in Cork is based on a number of factors. The report presented to Cork City Council by its manager, Mr. Joe Gavin, is completely at variance with what the ESB told Oireachtas Members of all parties at meetings in Cork and what it has stated publicly. I am not interested in apportioning blame but we need to understand why there was a deficit in communications; why no early flood warning system was in place; why we do not have a coded flooding alert system, be it amber, red or green; and, pertinently in this case, who makes decisions on water storage and water discharge. Where is the chain of communication with the ESB and the local authorities? Cork City Council, Cork County Council and the ESB have a case to answer. This is about transparency and accountability. It is about getting answers to the questions every citizen affected has been asking.
The Minister of State must agree that while the city manager presented a detailed report which itemised what happened from 11.30 a.m. on the Thursday to the end of the emergency, the ESB told us a different story. Into that mix we must put University College Cork which told us that it had received a single warning prior to lunchtime on the Thursday. I hope the Minister of State will state that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, and the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Mansergh, whose Departments intertwine on this issue, will commit to holding an independent investigation.
The people of Cork and I are not interested in having an Oireachtas committee investigate this matter. By all means, invite people to meetings but, as the Minister of State knows from her constituency in County Kildare, flooding causes not only physical damage but also human trauma. That is why this should not happen again. I hope she will commit to holding an independent investigation that will allow the people of Cork to receive answers. While we should not have a witch-hunt, we should put in place an early flood warning system, enhance the quay walls and flood defence barriers and put in place a communications system that will, in so far as possible, ensure this will not happen again.
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has asked local authorities, including Cork City Council, for reports on the effects of the recent flooding in their areas and an assessment of the measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of such flooding in the future. The Senator will appreciate that the Minister does not have responsibility for the activities of the Electricity Supply Board and he awaits the report from Cork City Council which I am sure will cover the recent events relating to the release of water by the ESB. Separately, the national director of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management has been asked to carry out a review of the operation of the procedures of the framework for major emergency management during the flooding event.
In respect of the wider question of flood avoidance, primary responsibility for flood risk management rests with the Office of Public Works which has the lead agency role in devising and implementing measures, including flood relief schemes, to deal with flooding in Ireland. With regard to measures to be taken against future flood risks in the Cork city area, the OPW commissioned the River Lee catchment flood risk assessment and management study, in conjunction with Cork County Council and Cork City Council in 2006, as the pilot study for the national flood risk assessment management programme. The objective of the study is to identify and map existing and potential future flood risk areas in the River Lee catchment, through detailed hydrological and hydraulic modelling and flood-mapping. Once the flood risk has been quantified and mapped throughout the catchment, with a particular focus on developed areas or areas under potential development pressure, a catchment flood risk management plan will be developed which will include a prioritised set of actions, measures and works to manage the flood risk in the catchment.
In the light of the recent flood events of November 2009 and the subsequent need to study the new data, the timeframe for completion has been extended to allow for a review of the risks and proposed options. Once this review is complete, the flood risk management plan and associated strategic environmental assessment will be published by the OPW, with the flood maps, for formal public consultation early in the new year. After all relevant comments from this consultation have been addressed in the catchment flood risk management plan, the study will be complete and the recommendations will be brought forward for implementation on a phased basis. When the various reports and the above mentioned study are complete, the position will be much clearer for all the parties concerned.
The Minister thanks the city and county council staff, together with the Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces, Civil Defence and voluntary bodies, for all the work they undertook during the recent flooding event. Although the major emergency response procedures operated well, the Minister is very conscious of the distress and disturbance that individuals and their families and businesses experienced and continue to experience as a result of the flooding.
The reply is, to say the least, very disappointing. It is a clear abdication of responsibility by the Minister, Deputy Gormley. Why has he not outlined his willingness to embark upon and embrace an independent investigation? No reference was made by the Minister of State to whether money would be allocated to undertake a risk assessment of the key infrastructures in the flood plain and city. When will the River Lee catchment flood risk assessment and management study be completed? This is more big Government not listening to or answering the people. I appreciate it is not the Department of the Minister of State but she is the conduit for the Government in the House and the reply does not provide a satisfactory answer. The Minister has given the people of Cork the two fingers.
The reply states that once the review is complete, the flood risk management plan and associated strategic environmental assessment will be published by the OPW, with the flood maps, for formal public consultation early in the new year.
That was promised in 2006.
The Seanad adjourned at 9 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 16 December 2009.