Cork and Galway have been the worst hit as rain continues to pour over the country leaving a clean-up and repair bill expected to stretch into tens of millions of Euro.
The minister met members of the emergency services and local authority staff who have been working to deal with heavy rains and flooding.
“I was seeing the situation in Cork and other parts of the country first hand and I will be reporting back to Government on the situation.
“These are some of the worst floods we have seen in many parts of the country in living memory and our priority must be to help those people whose lives and livelihoods have been so badly hit by these events.
“Central Government is providing whatever help and assistance it can to the local services providing direct emergency assistance to those affected by the flooding.”
“Local authority staff, emergency services, gardai, defence forces and the fire services have been working flat out to assist people and they deserve our praise and thanks.”
Luke Walsh