Families living south of Athlone who have had their lives disrupted by flooding since Christmas were promised support yesterday by the Minister for Public Enterprise.
Ms O'Rourke paid a visit to the Carrickobrien area of Athlone where flooding has covered roadways, making access difficult. She said the question of compensation for the 12 families should be looked at urgently.
A similar number of families on the western side of the Shannon at Clonown have also found travel difficult because of flooding on the roadways linking their homes to the town.
The Irish Farmers' Association president, Mr Tom Parlon, who visited the area yesterday, called for immediate remedial work to be carried out on the Shannon basin.
He said he had been told the flooding was the worst in living memory and had been caused by a consistent failure over many years to carry out necessary maintenance on the river.
He said huge areas of Leitrim, Longford, Roscommon, Westmeath, Offaly and Galway, including farms and roads, were under floodwater.
He called on county councils to assess the overall problem and explain why flooding in the area was a recurring problem and why access roads had been flooded over the last month.
Diversions are still in place on the Strokestown-Longford road, which has been closed by flooding since Christmas Day.