Attempts to prevent statement on floods

EFFORTS were made yesterday to block a damning statement on the Newcastle West floods being read out at a special meeting of Limerick County Council.

The statement by Newcastle West Flood Committee contained a withering attack on the council for failing to activate the county’s major emergency plan to cope with the crisis deluge on August 1.

A council-commissioned report said the floods were of such a scale that they could only happen once in 650 years.

Calling for an independent investigation, the committee, in a statement read out at the special meeting, said: “Limerick County Council has major questions to answer arising from this incident. Given that over 200 properties have been damaged, and the scale of the loss is of the order of €40 million.

“In these circumstances the council cannot continue as the lead investigatory agency into an incident where its own performance must be called into question very rigorously.”

Cllr Patrick O’Donovan (FG), one of the first to raise the alarm on the night of the flood, read the statement.

He claimed he was informed in the council chamber prior to the meeting that he could not read the flood statement as it had not been circulated in advance.

Mr O’Donovan said: “I told them I was going to read it anyway and did.”

The flood committee raised numerous questions on why the county’s major emergency plan was not activated.

They asked: “Why was it not put into operation when both Newcastle West and Rathkeale fire brigades broke down in deep water and went out of service for a long period at a critical juncture in the flooding? Why was it not put into operation when untrained civilians had to rescue people from their homes in the front buckets of construction machinery?”

The flood victims pointed out that conditions were so bad that the voluntary Limerick Marine Search and Rescue team found great difficulty in coping when rescuing a number of people who might otherwise have drowned.

The statement added: “We submit that in every respect the requirements of a major emergency were met by this incident and the council’s failure to activate its major emergency plan requires a full investigation and explanation.

“It is also noted that the gardaí have authority to activate the plan and we must ask also why they did not do so independently of the council.”

The flood committee report also referred to the fact that August 1 marked the commencement of the council’s annual staff holidays.

“Clarification is needed in that regard as to what resources are available, and were available, to deal with major emergencies during holiday times,” the statement continued.