People throughout the State have since Christmas been experiencing an unprecedented weather crisis. This has now become a state of emergency in many areas, including Cork, and it should be declared as such. Local communities and local authorities are not in a position to respond to the daily devastation and they require Government support urgently. This support has not been forthcoming. I find it incredible that, to date, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, has failed to appear before this House to inform Members of the action and interventions being taken by the Government to alleviate the terrible impact on families and communities. This is unacceptable. People are being bled by the same Minister, and the rest of the Government, for the local property tax and water charges. Is it too much to ask that the Government should take action and provide leadership to assist the people in this time of great need? In the immediate term, homeowners, businesses and service providers need urgent practical and financial aid from the Government beyond the terms of their private insurance, if they have any. This would alleviate the impact, including on cooking and washing, and on utilities and bedding that need to be replaced. The Government should quantify quickly the broader impact of the devastation on local communities and key infrastructure.

We heard yesterday from the Taoiseach how much has been invested in flood defences since 1996 and how much will be spent in the coming five years. I am aware that the EU floods directive compels the Government to publish what are termed detailed flood hazard and flood maps. There should be no delay in their publication to inform the Government on how best to allocate resources for the future. Can the Tánaiste tell the House whether he, in his capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, has been in direct contact with the European Commission and the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy through the Government's permanent representative in Brussels, Mr. Declan Kelleher, or by any other means to request financial aid through the EU solidarity fund?

We know the solidarity fund can be mobilised in the event of an extraordinary regional disaster such as that experienced across this State in recent weeks.

Our hearts go out to the people who have been affected by flooding over the past number of weeks. In some cases, people have been affected more than once. It is a devastating experience for people to have their homes flooded and I have enormous sympathy for their plight. I want to pay tribute to the workers and volunteers on the ground whose efforts in these awful weather conditions have helped to mitigate the impact of the flooding.

The Government has acted on this issue. We discussed it at Cabinet on Tuesday and are taking action on a number of fronts. Indeed, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Hayes, is in Cork today as part of that exercise. In the first instance, the Department of Social Protection assists households in the aftermath of emergency events such as flooding with urgent needs payments to cover clothing, food and emergency accommodation costs. The Department of Social Protection has funding available now in the form of a humanitarian assistance scheme to assist people whose homes were damaged by flooding and who are not in a position to meet the costs of essential needs. Local Department of Social Protection officials are engaging with the local authorities and a protocol has been established whereby they will carry out an assessment of the level of assistance required on a house-by-house basis.

The national co-ordination group on severe weather met on Tuesday, Wednesday and again this morning to review the situation to date and to consider the ongoing threats from storms, tidal conditions and river flooding. The Government decided on Tuesday to make an immediate initial allocation of €15 million for emergency purposes, pending a fuller assessment of the situation over the coming days and weeks. The Defence Forces and the Civil Defence have been deployed to give practical assistance as necessary.

A total of €320 million has been spent on flood defences up to 2013. Of this figure, €25 million relates to the minor flood works and coastal protection scheme introduced in 2009. An additional amount of approximately €50 million has been spent on other programmes, mainly the catchment flood risk assessment and management studies. A total of €45 million has been allocated to the OPW for flood risk management in 2014. This will enable construction to continue on four capital schemes, a further six projects to begin construction and 22 other projects to continue to be advanced towards implementation, subject to satisfactory progression through planning and design stages. The OPW will also continue to operate the minor flood works and coastal protection scheme, which provides funding to local authorities to allow them to carry out smaller-scale flood mitigation and coastal protection projects in their areas. Approximately €250 million is planned to be spent on flood defences over the next five years. Together with the local authorities, we will have to assess whether that will be sufficient to meet future needs.

The local authorities are also now required, as an integral part of their development planning process, to consider climate adaptation measures, including the risk of flooding. At the request of the Government, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is currently collating more detailed reports from local authorities on the clean-up response, repair and restoration costs. This report will be submitted to the Government next Tuesday and will include measures relating to the funding and co-ordination of clean-up, repair and remedial works.

This is a state of emergency and must be declared as such. The Minister of State, Deputy Hayes will be in Cork and Kerry today and tomorrow. He will be visiting my home town of Youghal tomorrow morning and I intend to meet him there. Youghal has been flooded three times already this year. While we welcome his visit, we need more than just photo opportunities and words of comfort. We need to hear about the Government's action plan and we need to see the immediate benefits of that plan.

Does the Tánaiste accept that the Government's response to what is now an emergency has been at best lethargic, if not completely hands-off? It has taken the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, weeks to make a statement before the House and the lack of coherent leadership from him and other senior Ministers has been nothing short of appalling.

Have community welfare officers been instructed to give immediate financial aid to families whose belongings have been destroyed?

First, the Government has acted on this issue and has acted quickly. In a flood situation, the first thing people need is immediate assistance, which is being provided through the Department of Social Protection. A sum of €15 million was provided by the Government this week to address people's immediate needs. Officials of the local authorities and the Department of Social Protection have been asked to go house to house and talk to people about their immediate needs. Some people cannot cook while others have had their living spaces destroyed and they need immediate help. The Department of Social Protection, together with the local authorities, have been asked to address that on an immediate basis, and that is why the €15 million was provided.

The second issue that must be addressed is the longer-term situation, particularly for homes that have been affected. In some cases, insurance issues may arise which will have to be addressed. The third issue is how to prevent the flooding from happening in the first place. That is where the investment in flood protection schemes comes into play. I have given details of the very significant sums of money that have been provided and the various schemes that are in preparation to prevent flooding or at least mitigate it.

Deputy McLellan also asked about an application for European Union assistance. There is a fund available but there is a very high threshold or bar for applications to it in terms of what will actually qualify for funding. That will form part of the consideration of the report that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government will bring to Cabinet next week. At the moment he is getting an assessment from all of the local authorities of the scale and cost of the damage. That will form part of the report that the Government will consider on Tuesday.