Protest planned over Midleton flood relief scheme concerns

A growing frustration over a perceived lack of communication on issues relating to the flood relief scheme for Midleton has prompted a group to announce they will stage a protest march in two weeks time.

The announcement from the Midleton and East Cork Flood Protection Group (MECFPG), which represents householders in the town and surrounding areas impacted by Storm Babet flooding, of a protest to take place on May 18 comes following a Dáil response to a query from East Cork Fine Gael TD David Stanton last week.

Minister of State for the OPW, Kieran O’Donnell, suggested that it might be 2025 or 2026 before an application for a flood relief scheme might be lodged with the appropriate planning authority.

Complexity

Mr O’Donnell told the Dáil that such was the complexity of the proposed flood relief scheme for Midleton that it would cost in the region of €50m, three times the original estimate made in 2017 and would need the consent of up to 80 landowners.

The suggestion that the application for planning permission might not be sought until 2026 has led to dismay among the members of the MECFPG. “Back in November we were told this would happen in quarter four of 2025,” said Caroline Leahy, the secretary of MECFPG. 

“Everyone is living with intense anxiety when there is heavy rainfall.”

In February the group brought a petition containing almost 15,000 signatures to Leinster House to highlight the lack of urgency in providing measures against flooding.

“Since submitting our petition, we have made numerous attempts to engage with our local TDs but these have not been fruitful and so we felt there was no option but to escalate our campaign.

“Accordingly, we have planned a peaceful community protest for May 18 at 12pm,” she said.

Disappointed

Speaking to The Echo, Mr Stanton said he had been raising the issues regarding the proposed flood relief scheme for Midleton on almost a weekly basis in the Dáil since October and acknowledged that he was disappointed that there was a danger the application for planning mightn’t be lodged until 2026.

“I know the news wasn’t what I wanted it to be as I wanted to be able to say the planning application would be in soon, but [that] won’t be the case as I was told it would be 2025 or 2026 before it would be lodged, which I was absolutely gobsmacked with to be honest with you.”

Fianna Fáil councillor Ann Marie Ahern has raised the issues arising out of the Storm Babet flooding several times at council level and is a member of the steering group set up by Cork County Council to liaise with local stakeholders about its plans.

She said that she shared the report the steering group had got regarding the update on the flood relief scheme at a meeting of the body at the end of April on her social media page but acknowledged that ‘communication can definitely be improved upon’.

“Communication could be done better but I think they’re trying to go as fast as they can to get the planning process done,” she said.