‘I gave the money — it wasn’t used’

AS THE first anniversary of the devastating floods that hit Cork approaches, I would like to set the record straight on what was done at government level to deal with the aftermath, and to outline the consequences of dealing with such situations as demanded by “soapbox” politicians from opposition parties eager to peddle their “snakeoil” for political gain.

First, what was done. Following the floods, I visited Cork to view the damage and to speak with city officials to see what was required to get the city back on its feet.

I met with the then Cork city manager Joe Gavin and assured him any and all costs incurred by the city that my department had control over (your tax money) would be forthcoming.

Less than a month later my department received a bill from Cork City Council for €3.1 million as the total cost of emergency remedial works in the city; by return of post my department released a cheque for the full amount sought.

The volume of flood waters that struck the city in November ’09 caused serious damage to the quay walls at Sunday’s Well and Grenville Place. The Government has made full funding available to Cork City Council for the repairs of these river defences; that the funding has not been drawn down is as frustrating for me as I am sure it is to affected residents.

I brought in guidelines this year to prevent building on areas that are prone to flooding. While I fully accept these new measures will not prevent increased volumes of flood water from reoccurring, it will prevent further development on many de facto floodplains, thus preventing more problems in the future.

The challenge is to allow the Office of Public Works to bring forward proposals to deal with flood defences that can deal with heretofore unprecedented water volumes hitting Cork city. I hope to be in a position to elaborate further on this issue when the ongoing investigation by independent experts into planning matters in Cork City Council concludes.

Members of Fine Gael and Labour in Cork demanded that I do more, with a more “hands on” approach.

Let’s explore what such an approach would entail, and the consequences of same. Following the flooding, if I could have picked up the phone and ordered a team of engineers, stonemasons, etc from Dublin to travel to Cork to sort out the problems, the same opposition members would properly ask: “Why couldn’t professionals in Cork City Council have handled the emergency themselves?”

City councils have hundreds of well-paid professionals employed to handle day-to-day and emergency situations, local authorities also have paid elected councillors to assist officials in the management of their functional areas.

As a government minister it is my job to manage your tax money, and to release emergency monies (through your local authority) when emergencies occur. I carried out these duties.

It is the responsibility of those at a local level to ensure your money is spent wisely as, and when needed; if those opposition politicians in Cork can’t grasp this concept, are they suggesting to abolish city and town councils?

I would have thought all of us who are paid from the public purse could work together for the good of all citizens; it is disappointing some refuse to leave the moral high ground of their soapboxes.