Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I am a realist. Things do not happen overnight. As I said, I listed out events going back to 2000. I welcome the Minister of State mentioning Mogeely and Gleann Fia. I thank Cork County Council and the east Cork municipal district council because they are pushing and working with the OPW on this. The Minister of State's response states flood defences solution can be readily identified and achievable in a short timeframe. The flood barriers that can be connected to homes would be instant. I do not know whether they would be covered. The amount of €750,000 is a good pocket to get things moving.

I want to mention a public warning system with regard to where there is a major emergency or disaster that poses a significant or imminent threat to human life. Perhaps the Minister of State could look at technology for the existing system. Only that Storm Babet happened during the day in Midleton there would have been deaths. I have never seen it so bad in my entire life. How nobody was killed is unbelievable.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I will follow it up with Cork County Council and the OPW. I appeal to everybody to work together. In Gleann Fia in Mogeely people have worked with the farmer and come up with a solution. They have agreement on the short-term measure of a holding tank to be released into the culvert on the river in Castlemartyr.

I am happy that work is ongoing on Moore's Bridge. I have met the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW at Moore's Bridge and briefed him on what the real problems are. I would like to go down with him someday and go through some of the home truths. I thank the Minister of State for his response and I will bring it back to those people who are affected.

I will follow up on the issue of the insurance and the mental stress it is causing people who have not even got into their houses yet.

I thank the Minister of State.

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