I wish you a happy new year, a Cheann Comhairle.

Thank you. The same to you, Deputy.

I wish the Taoiseach a happy new year too, apart from the electoral situation.

Storms Desmond, Eva and Frank have devastated many communities across this island. They caused immense damage to homes, businesses and vital infrastructure, particularly road infrastructure. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the council staff who did heroic work in many communities, the staff of other agencies and the Army, whose members were called out in emergency situations and who worked well. Above all, it was communities on the ground who responded in solidarity to help their beleaguered neighbours, colleagues and townspeople. Farmers and civil contractors, in particular, did heroic work.

However, many people are very angry at the lack of preparation for these storms, particularly between the first and last storms, on basic matters such as protocols regarding the provision of pumps and the lack of council staff. The cuts to council staff were so severe that councils were incredibly stretched during this difficult period. The abolition of town councils was a mistake, as was starkly shown up in the context of the response to the flooding. "Who is in charge?" was the most often repeated catchcry or refrain as one travelled from one flood area to another. Between 2014 and 2015 there was an underspend of approximately €34.5 million on flood defence schemes and repairs to flood defences. The money was provided but was not spent. The core national framework for emergency management has not been updated since 2007. Limerick City Council is still mentioned in it, although it is a year and a half since it was abolished.

A question please, Deputy.

Until yesterday, there was no discussion on insurance cover for flood risk for homes and businesses. I asked the Taoiseach about that a month ago. Today, instead of statements on flooding, we should be debating legislation during Government time on a single agency for the Shannon region, which everybody in that region is now adamant is required to deal with the flooding issues.

Why was there a lack of preparation in terms of the response to the damage caused by these storms? Can the Taoiseach indicate why the Government underspent to the tune of €34 million on flood defences in the last two years? Why has the national framework for emergency response not been updated? Why has there been no proactive work on the insurance issue until now? Why are we not discussing legislation on a single agency for the Shannon region today?

I thank the Deputy for his questions and I wish him good luck for 2016, outside the electoral contest.

The rains in December were the heaviest for 52 years in many places around the country. Cork Airport had 400 mm, more than it ever had. Places in the south east such as Carlow had between 150% and 300% more than average rainfall. This was absolutely devastating for many communities and very distressing for householders, business people and people in the agricultural sector. I agree that the community response was absolutely magnificent. Obviously assistance was given by Civil Defence, Army personnel and local authorities to everybody involved in attempting to cope with elements that in many cases just wiped away road structures, bridges and culverts and caused serious damage.

I called together all of the chief executives of the statutory authorities with responsibility for the Shannon basin. They had never been called together previously. If one reads the Official Report of the debate held in this House on 30 June 1948 one will find the same complaints and issues being raised about flooding, and the Shannon in particular, at that time.

However, as far as I am concerned, one could be debating legislation on a single entity. Many of these are very important statutory entities. What is much more important is that the action is taken that can be taken and to have an effective working strategy to deal with the Shannon basin from estuary to source, including the tributaries of the rivers Hind, the Brosna, the Suck and the Inny. The answer to the problem is multifaceted and includes flood plains and works that can be carried out under the flexibility of the Habitats and Water Framework Directives.

I wish to advise Deputy Martin that what Government did before Christmas was make two decisions on the humanitarian issue. That affected Bandon with €10 million being made available to address humanitarian issues. Also, a €5 million fund was decided for businesses in flood plains which did not have insurance and were ratably valued. It is a very simple and effective proposition to get €5,000 paid before Christmas and a further €15,000 unvouched costs to be administered by local authorities and the Red Cross. The local authorities confirmed that they turned around the applications within 24 hours.

The emergency co-ordination group has met 30 times since 3 December. It is a body of representative people with great experience in their fields. Deputy Martin raises a valid question as to more adequate preparation. One of the decisions made by Government was to invest in detailed capacity for far greater information on long-range weather forecasting so that authorities and communities would be aware as far in advance as possible of what might happen. I understand the concept of wanting a single legal authority. Some of these authorities were in situ before the State was founded. An effective working strategy is what is needed.

The insurance companies were not called together before now. We had a good meeting with them yesterday. It was not meant to be either an inquisition or a meeting out of which final decisions would be made. What was agreed was that the companies would explain and forward to the Office of Public Works by the end of next week the information on the houses and businesses they insure and come back with, to coin a phrase, a more mature reflection on the issue of demountable defences which are allowed, insured and reinsured on the Continent but not in Ireland. In Fermoy for instance, such defences were put up on seven different occasions during the recent floods and worked exceptionally well. As far as we are concerned, they stand the test of time. In that sense, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport will produce, in so far as he can, an accurate summary from all local authorities of the extent of structural damage to roads, bridges, culverts and so on. We hope to deal with that during the course of the coming year.

The Taoiseach's reply confirms my basic point that there was a lack of preparation at Government level for the emergencies that occurred. I refer to very basic issues, such as the hiring of pumps. I was in Midleton where hours after the shocking flooding, people were still looking for the proper pumps to pump out the water. I was in Portumna in Galway where it was down to the six council staff. Deputy Keaveney was with me and we met Councillor Anne Rabbitte who led the charge with the council staff to simply put up a basic defence to save the town from flooding. A €200,000 spend some time back would have prevented that necessity. Many people on the ground say that minor works, from drainage and reinforcing of walls and ditches, would have done a great deal to prevent a lot of the damage that was done. In Bandon and other towns, people are adamant that if it was not for farmers and civil contractors, the situation would have been a great deal worse.

However, some civil contractors were told they should not be doing the work and that they did not have insurance for it. There were no protocols in place. Some people were told they should not be doing the work when the whole place was under water. Talking to traders, I heard that it was those people who made the essential difference in the eye of the storm. In Clare at New Quay, Clonlara and Tubber, basic interventions in advance could have kept connectivity between townlands and villages.

There is an issue around the lack of preparation. I mentioned to the Taoiseach that the emergency response plan has not been updated since 2007, which is a serious indictment. On the insurance front, I asked the Taoiseach a month ago to consider the British approach in terms of legislation and otherwise in providing a not-for-profit fund to deal with houses at risk from flooding.

All of the Taoiseach's response was post-event. It was a commentary on the event and its aftermath. Very little of what he said has answered the set of questions I put to him on the state of preparedness of people on the ground and at Government level directing matters before and between the storms.

I remind the House that we have statements on flooding immediately after the Order of Business.

I am not God and I cannot predict the extent of rainfall. That is one of the reasons we have invested in far more sophisticated long-term weather forecasting.

That should have been done three years ago. It was recommended three years ago.

Hold on.

It is another confirmation of the lack of preparation.

Please.

Why did Fianna Fáil not do it in 2009 when in government?

The Taoiseach should call in the Minister of State, Deputy Simon Harris.

After you start, Deputy Martin, we now have a chorus.

I point out to Deputy Martin that the scheme in England is only going live now. It took five years to put together and it excludes small businesses and houses built since 2009. Some £40 million was spent on Carlisle but it did not work. The Minister of State at the Department of Finance with responsibility for the Office of Public Works is developing the CFRAM detailed response which includes 66 locations on the Shannon and 300 nationally. Some €420 million is to be spent over the next five years and €1 billion over the next decade to deal with flood defences in various locations nationally. Bandon would have been done by now but there were objections and it is a similar situation in Enniscorthy. I was in Craughwell the other day where people were very distraught. The new bridge acted as a dam. The old bridge never blocked. Houses were flooded and there was damage, frustration and great annoyance.

Lessons are learned from all of these floods. The first point of emergency contact must be the local authority. The representative of all the local authorities, Mr. Brendan McGrath, gave a detailed response at each of the 30 meetings of the national co-ordination group.

He does not have the staff.

It is all chief, no Indians.

Army personnel were available and at the end of a telephone, day or night, to man pumps, fill sandbags and assist communities to keep flood waters in abeyance. In the complex area between the Slieve Aughty mountains and Kinvara, where fractured limestone results in underground streams and turloughs which emerge in winter, flexibility must be shown under the Habitats Directive and water directive to take excess surface water from those turloughs and allow houses, dairy farms and agricultural sheds which are currently flooded to carry on business as normal.

Lessons are being learned. Clearly, one cannot predict the extent of rainfall that nature sends to us. I understand exactly the frustration of so many people but all of these agencies are working flat out to bring about solutions. The period ahead is a very important time for rectifying some of these problems in preparation for what might happen again next winter.