I am sharing time with my colleague, Deputy O'Connell, on the important issue of flooding. I represent the constituency of Cork East and have the honour and privilege to do so in Dáil Éireann. It is well known that Storm Babet in October 2023 did unmerciful damage to a huge number of homes and businesses across the constituency. Over 800 homes and premises were badly damaged. Many people's homes were destroyed and needed very significant reconstruction works. Housing estates were overrun by flood water in the town of Midleton and many other areas of east Cork including Rathcormac, Mogeely, the village of Killeagh and Castlemartyr. It also affected places in Ladysbridge and many one-off rural locations around that area. To put it in perspective for the Minister of State, in the 200 years of recorded history in my home village of Killeagh, there was no record of flooding taking place until October 2023. I concur with Deputy Hayes's comments. We are living in times when the climate is changing. These events, unfortunately, will become more common. Killeagh has been made famous by the Kingfishr song, which mentions "the woods of Glenbower". One thing that personally hit me was walking those woods after the flooding took place and seeing bridges washed away and the landscape damaged through landslides and other physical changes. It is the first time in my living memory that I recall any event causing such damage and destruction. The sad reality of water is that it gets in everywhere. It does irreversible damage and requires very substantial repair works at huge cost. I will recap the public infrastructure cost of Storm Babet to the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, who is in the Chamber. It was in and around the region of €60 million to €80 million when you factor in the community hospital in Midleton, the community Garda station, other public infrastructure, roads, bridges and things that were washed away and destroyed and needed subsequent reconstruction. The impact it had on families and people - human beings - in the constituency was absolutely devastating. I want to provide feedback to colleagues in the House. I am anxious for us to do everything we can, in the political system, as the public looks on. On this side of the Chamber there are the back benches, where Government-supporting Deputies sit, and the Minister of State's benches, where members of the Government sit. I am relaying the views and the frustration of the people of east Cork. They do not care about planning processes, Part 8 schemes or Arterial Drainage Acts. They want to see progress as quickly as possible so that their family homes are as safe as they can be. They want us to do all we can in respect of that. I want to reflect on that, which I think is also important to do. From my engagement and experience with Cork County Council, I think it has been doing as much as it physically can in respect of advancing the individual property protection scheme. My understanding, now that over 700 applications have been assessed, is that the installation of that property protection scheme is ongoing and is happening. There are a few things I want to report back. If there is future ministerial engagement from the Taoiseach or a Minister, the TDs in the constituency need to get sufficient notice that it is happening. This is necessary to make sure that people affected by flooding get an opportunity for dialogue and engagement. That has been a point of particular frustration to me. I have not been given sufficient notice or opportunities to feed in on programmes when Ministers have come to visit. In fact, this was the case when the Taoiseach visited. I relayed that to him subsequently. It caused frustration in the community. It is important to ensure we keep that collegiality in terms of what we are all seeking, which is solution-focused. The advancement of the main Midleton flood relief scheme is no easy undertaking because we are talking about tidal flooding, surface flooding and fluvial river flooding. There is a merging of three individual issues that are causing Midleton to become very prone to flooding at a time when we are adapting to the changing climate. I described the flooding that happened in 2023 as biblical. I really hope, in all sincerity, that this never occurs again as long as I live, but we cannot plan on that basis. We have to plan on the basis of what has happened to make sure we do what we can to protect the residents in that area. We must do everything we physically can. I am sad to say to the Minister of State, in the politest way possible, that the tranche 2 schemes that are stuck in the Department for which he has responsibility are a little bit of a joke. I am fed up with trying to explain to people, particularly in Castlemartyr, why this continues to be the case when it comes to advancing the tranche 2 works that need to be done on the River Kiltha, and further up in Mogeely as well. We are trying to map solutions for people in those areas. I am conscious that anything that is done in Castlemartyr can have a knock-on impact on the village of Ladysbridge, which is further down. We need to see a better system where the OPW gets the funding. If it is the case that the Minister of State needs help, he should tell us and we can work together to try to make that happen. Ireland is home to the European headquarters of many of the largest multinational companies in the social media and tech space. The world HQ of Meta, or Facebook as people would know it, is in Ballsbridge, with over 5,000 people working there. I am amazed that we still do not have a national emergency system where people get a text. I have been abroad in countries where text alerts have come in due to severe weather. An automatic notification is sent to people's phones to tell them to be alert. Pushing that burden onto local authorities is not fair. That is something the Government should look at. I genuinely feel it could easily be sorted in a couple of months. It has been done in other countries with great ease. We have all of the assets here to make that happen. Giving people time to prepare is important. I know it is horrible to say it but if it occurs again while people are working in their places of employment or away from their homes, at least they would have some chance to get back to where they live to get their valuables and do something. The Minister of State knows what happened in Midleton in 2023 during Storm Babet. I was told that in one case, hot meals were floating around on trays in a community healthcare space on that occasion. That is how quick it happened. People were in the hairdressers getting their hair done to find floodwater coming in under their feet. We need to see a better solution that includes having a proper emergency system in place. My time is coming to an end. As a TD, I am doing everything I can with the good faith of my Opposition and Government colleagues in the constituency. We want to make sure this happens. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, to do everything he can to help and support us to achieve that. I know that what happened in Wexford was very regrettable, but what happened in east Cork a couple of short years ago was considerably worse. I do not want the people there to be forgotten about.

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