WHEN ESB officials attend the Oireachtas Environment Committee this afternoon, they could be forgiven for focusing only on the politicians throwing questions their way.
Aideen Cronin, and other flood victim representatives listening from the public gallery, may not be their main concern.
Since November 19, the 49-year-old mother of three and her husband Tim have been unable to return to their home on Western Road in Cork city due to the damage caused by the floods. While the situation has been replicated by dozens of other families, things are worse for the Cronins.
The home which they evacuated after more than three feet of water seeped in within hours, was also a business – the nine-bed Anam Cara B&B. It was full on November 19. It has been empty ever since.
"We’d heard the weather warnings the evening before but when we went to bed at 12.30am, everything was fine," Aideen, a representative of the newly formed Cork Flood Action Committee, explained.
"It was absolutely unreal, the water was up to the top of the kitchen table, the fridge was floating. There has been so much damage caused.
"We haven’t had any concrete offer on the claim yet but what I’m concerned about for this meeting is to get answers.
"There has been 19 more serious rainfalls in Cork since the last major flood in 1963, according to UCC, so we want to get to the bottom of what happened, and we want to know now."
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, February 23, 2010
