A Fine Gael councillor who was attacked while canvassing in West Cork is due to make a full statement to gardaí this evening in relation to the incident.

A tidal barrage which would generate electricity is the most viable option to protect a West Cork town, according to councillors who want the Office of Public Works (OPW) to incorporate it into its flood prevention plans.

Clonakilty reopened for business just hours after floods again ran through the centre of the town.

Emergency humanitarian aid of €15m is being made available to flood victims without insurance as storms again battered the country.

Vandals could have jeopardised the education of hundreds of pupils, a board member of a West Cork school has said.

A committee member credited with exposing financial irregularities in Cork County VEC has asked the permanent head of the Department of Education to appoint an inspector to further investigate the education body.

Mismanagement within the old Co Cork VEC has forced a six-figure tax settlement with the Revenue Commissioners.

The last ever meeting of County Cork VEC will take place today under the shadow of a dispute regarding an allegation that it covered up controversies.

County Cork VEC has been subjected to a far deeper probe of its tax affairs than previously thought.

County Cork VEC has accepted there were problems with unauthorised leases at Mallow Youthreach but at the last minute voted to deliver a report on the matter behind closed doors.

County Cork VEC secured more than €430,000 in unauthorised borrowings from Mallow Credit Union and signed up to a long lease with no permission.

County Cork VEC has said it is prepared to make a settlement with the Revenue Commissioners for the second time in six years.

Dramatic CCTV footage of floodwaters sweeping through Clonakilty show water rising to record levels of 2ft in less than five minutes.

The Department of Education has revealed it is to tackle waste and mismanagement in the VEC sector by unveiling a new system of scrutiny.

County Cork VEC spent more on legal bills in 2010 than in the previous 10 years combined.

A VEC used taxpayers’ money to engage a barrister to see if it had been defamed by a newspaper investigation into its finances — despite a departmental warning not to spend money on such legal opinion.

The damning findings of an internal audit of a County Cork VEC Youthreach project were dealt with only briefly at yesterday’s meeting of the VEC, which lasted almost three hours.

A FURTHER row has broken out over a Cork County VEC selection – this time, internally, within the ranks of Fine Gael.

HOPES of bringing an end to repeated flooding in a west Cork coastal town have been dashed.