‘People think this is all in the past, but we’re not even in our home’

JOHN and Olive Moynihan just want to forget the living nightmare that has been their lives since the devastating floods of eight months ago.

The reality of what happened last November still surrounds them and their three young children, Cathal, 10, Doireann, 3, and Eugene, 1, however.

“Things were so bad we’ve had to move out and rent in Ballincollig. People think this is all in the past, but we’re not even in our home,” said John.

“I’m a plasterer, I’m out of work at the moment but they won’t give me social welfare because I was self-employed.

“We’re paying about €800 a month for rent in Ballincollig, then there’s electricity and all the other bills. How do they expect us to afford it?”

In spring the Moynihans made a decision to bulldoze their home – which was also John’s childhood home – and rebuild. As a first step they drew up detailed plans for the new house, which included raising the building four foot to prevent a similar flood crisis from occurring.

The move sounds sensible, particularly considering the fact that a repeat of last November’s floods cannot be ruled out. But last week the plan was rejected by the local authority.

“I’m just sick of the whole thing now. It’s just one problem after another. We made the decision to raise the building, we’re told no. What do I want? I want to go back to last November and pretend this never happened.”

In the city centre area of Anne Street, Greg Franklin, a leading spokesman for the Cork Floods Action Committee (CFAC), says the same stories are being repeated across Cork.

The only differences are the names.

“I’ve my own issues with my insurance firm. They put my premium up from €220 to €690 and now won’t cover me for flood damage. They also gave me €7,000 less for my building damage than expected.

“If I do up my house again, and if it floods again this year, I will lose that compensation money and have no cover for flooding as well. They make you settle for less than what you have a right to because they know you need the money,” he said.

Nearby, John’s neighbour, Judy Kelly, recalls how a string of local political heavyweights came to her home.

Wading through almost four foot of water more than one openly told her they would help, that the level of repair work needed on the building meant it should be bulldozed, and promised her she would not be left alone.

Eight months on, despite the good intentions, those words seem hollow.

Since the flood crisis occurred, the 53-year-old grandmother and her elderly mother who suffers from severe asthma attacks have been left facing the reality of when a story disappears from the wider public’s consciousness.

The Kellys, who live within sight of the Inniscarra dam, have suffered two break-ins to their home because for weeks it could not be properly protected.

They have received just a fraction of the insurance compensation money they expected, leaving them unable to pay for necessary structural repair and a private assessor such work requires.

Worst of all Judy – who is unable to work because she is also the full-time carer for her mother, a responsibility she is happy to accept – is facing debts of up to €80,000 on the repair work she says is needed.

The 53-year-old does not like to complain. But she is adamant that there has been a failure to address the problems those left devastated by the November floods are continuing to face.

She can’t even bring her grandchildren up to play in the back garden because the floods wiped out her fence and hedges blocking out the dangers of the nearby road.

“I’m still suffering to be honest. We’re all still suffering,” Judy explained.

“When it happened my mother had to be rescued out of the ground window, she’s 77. Politicians came and had a look. They said they were shocked and that if it was their place they would bulldoze it and start again.

“It was three and a half foot of water, dirty, contaminated water, that came in. It was that bad.”

When Judy and her mother were able to return to their home months after the flood waters had subsided, they set about attempting to make it liveable again.

They contacted their insurance firm who offered a structural repair valuation significantly lower than expected.

The firm had given Judy €8,000 for the most immediate repairs, but it was impossible to stretch the allocation to meet the needs of the home.

An electrician cost €8,000 alone. A private assessor brought in to examine what work needed to take place initially wanted 10% of the payment up front, something the Kellys could not afford.

It may be eight months on from the crisis which stopped Cork in its tracks, but for Judy and her mother it is far from a distant memory.

“My house has been devalued so how am I going to pay for all this? To be honest people aren’t getting what they need to get.”

Eight months on, the floods crisis is continuing to wreak havoc on the people of Cork.