Moran urged to act on East Cork flooding concerns

Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide has written to the minister with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, inviting him to visit his Cork East constituents who are concerned about the possibility of flooding as summer draws to a close.

In his letter to Mr Moran, Mr Quaide explained that after East Cork was devastated by floods in October 2023, residents and businesses “are left keenly aware of the ongoing risk of extreme weather events”.

He said the need for comprehensive flood mitigation is “urgent and undeniable”, but that the rate of progress of interim flood relief works and mitigation measures to protect villages such as Mogeely, Castlemartyr, Killeagh, and Rathcormac is the source of “growing concern and frustration”.

“It is vital that you undertake an extensive visit to all at-risk settlements in the region very soon, as we face into the autumn and an increasing risk of extreme weather events,” wrote Mr Quaide.

“Residents and business owners need to be briefed on a programme of works, with clear timeframes, that meets the urgency and scale of flood risk we continue to face.”

Mr Quaide welcomed the flood gate grant scheme approved last October, but said that many of the property owners who have been assessed and approved for this scheme have not yet had the gates installed.

He said that some applicants were denied the grant as they were home at the time of the flooding and were able to put up makeshift barriers, though they remain as exposed to flooding as their neighbours who have been deemed eligible.

“As things stand, almost two years since the last catastrophic floods we have a large scale flood relief scheme for Midleton moving slowly towards a planning phase, and other smaller-scale projects for villages in East Cork in various stages of limbo,” Mr Quaide said.

“All the while, residents of these villages wait for the next major flood.

“And the indications from climate science are that this is a matter of when, not if.”