Over the past two weeks, the beautiful constituency of Cork South-West has seen devastation due to severe flooding which has destroyed businesses, private homes and people's property. The people of Rathbarry, Rosscarbery, Connonagh, Leap, Skibbereen, Bandon, Dunmanway and Bantry have experienced flooding beyond belief. Businesses such as the Eldon Hotel in Skibbereen, Wiseman's shop in Bantry and Con Linehan's clothes shop in Bandon are just a few that I can mention which had substantial losses due to these floods.

On this shocking night Lucey's Bar, the Anchor Bar, the Cosy Cabin in Bantry, as well as Cahalane's in Skibbereen opened their doors for the first time in almost six months but this was just to let flood water and muck out of their ruined premises. I spent hours in Bantry on the night of the floods and saw the sheer agony on people's faces. There were neighbours helping neighbours to try to save what was left of their businesses and homes. One lady told me that her business was closed for 12 weeks due to Covid-19. They had just reopened and she asked me to look at her stock. It was swimming around, which I could clearly see as my knee-high wellington boots filled with water. Private residences in Rosscarbery, Connonagh and Leap have also been ruined. This is simply due to rivers not being cleaned out. One house in Connonagh has been flooded three times in two weeks. The first flood was 5 ft high, the second time it was 12 in. high, and the third time it was 8 in. high.

The floods in each area have left dozens of unanswered questions. Much of this flooding could be avoided but common sense has gone out the window. Some 90% of flooding problems can be solved on the ground. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, who came down to west Cork on three occasions during those two weeks, leaving his family while on their short break. He saw first hand the devastation and met with the powers that be who are now going to do all in their power so this would never happen again. It is a little too late for the property that has been destroyed. I also thank the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, who came to west Cork on two occasions since the floods to meet with people in the affected area. My own group leader, Deputy Mattie McGrath, also came to west Cork over the weekend to look at the flooded areas. The Taoiseach came to Skibbereen to inspect the flooded area and the Tánaiste was spotted visiting the beauty spots of west Cork, as were many more politicians this summer.

I put it to the Minister, Deputy Ryan, that it is now more than two weeks since many people's premises were flooded and to date all they have got is a Red Cross humanitarian form, which has been extended to areas in west Cork such as Bandon, Bantry, Skibbereen and other places. No private residence can get funding from this fund. If one's business has insurance one will not get funds from this fund, even though many insurance policies have an excess of some €10,000. Also, if the insurance is drawn down once, the person may never get cover again. This is outrageous. These innocent people have had their lives destroyed and this Government stands idly by without a clear compensation package in place for the businesses and private residences of these areas so they can pick up the pieces to try to start again. Will the Minister answer a clear question? Has the Government discussed funding for these people in west Cork? If so, what kind of compensation package was discussed and when will the Government announce it?

I join with Deputy Collins in extending every sympathy to those who have suffered from the floods across west Cork. I am very familiar with many of the towns, villages and areas the Deputy mentioned. Deputy Collins is right that it is devastating when one wakes up in the morning to see ones house or business flooded. It is particularly worrying in places such as Skibbereen where extensive investment of some €20 million was invested in flood protection measures. Despite all of those best efforts still the streets and houses were flooded. We saw it again in Clifden yesterday. We are seeing extreme weather events that are a cause or function of climate change, which means what was once seen as a one in a 1,000 year event is actually happening every two or three years. The severity is also beyond any projection and becomes increasingly difficult to counter because what is happening is beyond compare, due to climate change.

Yes, the Government has considered looking at flood measures. From my recollection, we have passed special motions within the Cabinet twice in the past three weeks to agree additional funding. This will continue and we will look at it again. With regard to those businesses and householders, this is through no fault of their own and it is important that we manage it.

There is a particular issue around insurance and flooding. I am aware that in my constituency it is increasingly difficult for many people to get insurance because of areas that are routinely flooded. Deputy Doherty and others have been questioning how we manage the insurance industry. There is the whole issue of how insurance is provided, what the rules and regulations are, and what the guarantees and protections are, which is particularly important. I hope the new legislation on the regulation of insurance will help in that regard.

More than anything else, we need to take a really big view on managing this project. We need a national land use plan. Central to that is looking at how we develop and manage our land, our forestry, our farming and planning and development, including where we put houses and the sort of infrastructure we put in place. We should take a long-term view, knowing that climate change will lead to more extreme rainfall events. We should try to use nature to help us in that regard so the flow coming down off the mountains is actually held back in order that we restore our wetlands, bogs and the ways water is stored rather than in the bottom of someone's home. We need to really think big and long term. This problem is not going to go away. In some instances it can be addressed by short-term engineering fixes but the best long-term fix, to my mind, is us collectively and as communities managing our land and using natural systems to help store, stall and hold back water. That is probably the biggest, best and more economically effective way for us to protect our people from severe flood damage.

I am disappointed to hear the Minister say today that there is no clear compensation package being considered by the Government for the businesses and properties that have been destroyed in west Cork. Humanitarian aid through the Red Cross is nowhere near enough. It will not even cover 20% of those people who are affected. Has the Minister any idea of the pressure these people are under? Whether they are in Rathbarry, Rosscarbery, Connonagh, Leap, Skibbereen, Bantry or Bandon, people face tens of thousands of euro in damage due to others neglecting their surroundings. No one cleans overfilled rivers. The rivers are full of muck, silt or whatever polished word people want to call it. The rivers are full of it. I ask the Minister to come down to west Cork and I will show him first hand what is in the river at Connonagh. It is full of silt and branches that block drains and gullies, which then results in people's homes being flooded. There is no funding anymore for council staff to clean drains and watercourses. There is also no one to cut back the roadside verges, biggest scourge in rural Ireland, which leads to blockages and forces floodwater onto roads and into towns and villages. It was pointed out to me that if a Third World country was affected by flooding the Irish Government would send aid out immediately, and rightly so. The simple question is, why not send aid to west Cork? There is little point in the Taoiseach and Ministers coming to west Cork to sympathise with the people if they do not compensate them. These people feel codded. They feel that no one cares. I ask the Minister again today whether there is a clear compensation package for the people who were affected by floods in west Cork. "Yes" or "No".

As I said earlier to Deputy Collins, the answer is "Yes". I will provide the specific details for the Deputy. In Kenmare, Skibbereen and in other locations where we have seen such instances the Government responded immediately by trying to give immediate supports to alleviate the specific areas where it was a problem. I will send that on.

Going back to the bigger picture, I do not believe the problem of flooding is due necessarily in every case to silting or material in rivers. I believe it is due to that wider land management issue. The wider perspective in how we manage waterways and how we manage our water systems is going to be the best way, to my mind, of solving this huge problem.