The Government is aware of the enormous damage done in my constituency last October by Storm Babet. Residential homes, businesses and public infrastructure were very heavily damaged, with the cost of road damage alone estimated to be approximately €50 million, according to Cork County Council. The Department of Transport has told the council it does not have the funding to cover this damage, with an intolerable allocation of only €14 million being proposed for repairs during the year. Will the Minister, Deputy McGrath, bring this to the attention of the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Donohoe? We need intervention from the Department of public expenditure with the Department of Transport to give the local authority, our communities and my constituency the recovery they desperately need following Storm Babet.

I understand Cork County Council has now submitted its assessment of the damage that came from this exceptional weather event. It is not the expectation of the Government that a local authority would, out of its normal funds, be in a position to repair or reinstate roads that were very damaged by a storm. I will take up the issue with my Government colleagues. The practice has been that where public roads are damaged by an exceptional weather event, there would be an additional allocation made to the local authority to cover the cost of that. It is a significant sum but it is important that we fully support the county council to ensure the roads are reinstated to the quality they were at prior to the storm. I will engage with the Deputy and with Government colleagues on the issue.

Ballinspittle in west Cork was hit by flooding last night, with a number of businesses and residential properties affected. I thank members of the local fire service and emergency services who bravely saved many businesses and private properties last night. This is the second time the village has been hit by flooding in recent times. The owner of WILD restaurant woke up this morning to find his premises completely flooded. Owners of businesses and private properties in Ballinspittle need urgent assistance. Will the Minister announce in the Dáil today an extension to the flood support scheme for Ballinspittle?

I am very sorry to hear that properties in Ballinspittle were flooded as a result of the heavy rainfall. As the Deputy knows, the Government set up and activated two schemes in the past when there were similar flood events, namely, the Irish Red Cross scheme and the humanitarian scheme through the Department of Social Protection. I will liaise with my Government colleagues and ask that the Deputy be responded to directly, setting out the supports available for people who have experienced flooding following a weather event.