Christmas ‘desperation’ after floods for Glanmire family

A GLANMIRE resident living in an estate devastated by floods in October has spoken of the “sheer desperation” of facing a bleak Christmas in her family home.

Aisling McEvoy, her husband, and three children live in Copper Valley Vue and the floods on October 18 were not the first to hit their home.

She has written to Tánaiste Micheál Martin to renew her appeal for him to amend the humanitarian aid application process to make it accessible.

Mr Martin had visited her home in October and assured them at that time that the application process for humanitarian aid would be made more accessible.

“I still feel upset and angry that this happened to us for a second time and I feel stressed and worried will happen again for a third time,” she said.

Ms McEvoy said she understood that everyone else in the estate has their own story to tell and she, like others, was fighting her own battles outside of the floods.

She explained that the Storm Babet flooding was the second time their house had been impacted.

The first time their home was hit by flooding was due to a blocked drain, which caused an influx of around a foot to 18 inches of water.

“This time it was completely different and it was like a tsunami what came into us,” said Ms McEvoy.

“If it’s a wet Christmas, you’ll find us camped out on the bank praying that we make it through.

“No one can sleep when it rains.”

In her view, there are three things that need urgent attention: The humanitarian assistance document needs to be updated and funding needs to be provided immediately without ‘red tape’; the flood relief scheme planned for Copper Valley Vue needs to be accelerated; and emergency measures need to be put in place now.

Ms McEvoy is, like other residents in the estate, very grateful to all the council workers and officials who she says have been helpful but she is disappointed with the amount of red tape they have had to take on after seeing their homes devastated in October.

With less than three weeks to go until Christmas, the McEvoy family are hopeful that they can enjoy some sort of a celebration but it clearly won’t be like Christmas in previous years, she said.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin had visited her home in October and had assured the family at that time that the application process for humanitarian aid would be made more accessible.

“We were unable to look for alternative accommodation due to the constant fear of reflooding and the complete lack of funding,” she told the Tánaiste.

“Not only do we have to fix the interior of our homes but we’re also trying to finance external flood measures.

“All of this is coming on the back of enormous electricity bills from weeks of running dehumidifiers.

“It’s difficult not to feel hard done- by when you’re surrounded by Christmas lights and everyone out enjoying the party season while we’re working until we drop trying to repair our homes and our lives.

“I mean, really, who wants a flood barrier as their Christmas present?

“On behalf of every flood victim in the country, I’m calling [for] that humanitarian document to be scrapped and a new document drafted up immediately.

“Everyone is in agreement that the document is outdated and unfit for purpose in today’s world. People should not be means-tested to receive aid like this.”

She apologised to the Tánaiste for bombarding him, acknowledging that he was “extremely busy” and had many other issues to deal with, and asked him if he would confirm in writing that help would be provided, as it would give her peace of mind.

The Tánaiste’s office has been contacted for comment.