Cork South Central Fine Gael TD Jerry Buttimer has called for the Manager of Cork City Council and the Minister for the Environment to respond to and implement the recommendations of the report on the Review of the Response to Exceptional Severe Weather Events of 2009 – 2010.
Deputy Buttimer said “I have asked the Manager of Cork City Council and the Minister for the Environment to publicly respond to the report and confirm that they are putting in place the recommendations made.
“The Report sets out a detailed review of the response to the serious flooding and severe weather conditions in 2009/2010. It highlights that the responses to the weather conditions were ad hoc and the sharing of information was insufficient due to the disjointed relationship between the various organisations involved. It also exposes the vulnerability of our salt supplies which could be impeded by political disruption in the countries from whom we buy salt.
“The flood warnings were too general and did not sufficiently alert the people at risk, they were not made aware of reality of what was coming. It says that one of the reasons for this was a disjoint between the meteorological and the hydrological system information.
“It is very much welcomed that the response of the staff of Cork City Council has been recognised and praised in the report. When they were most needed those working for the council went beyond the call of duty to help those most severely affected by the floods.
“The agencies mentioned in the report, the Department of the Environment, Met Éireann, ESB, Cork City Council and others, must now take action to ensure that the recommendations are implemented.
“The feasibility of a flood forecasting system for the River Lee should be immediately examined. Cork City Council must confirm that it has implemented a flood emergency plan, and also whether or not it has agreed interim protocols with ESB, OPW and EPA to access hydrological information which will form the basis for flood forecasting.”
Deputy Buttimer concluded by saying “agencies involved at all stages of the emergency management cycle must ensure sufficient cooperation so that future responses to severe weather conditions are not disjointed and are more than merely ‘adequate’.”