Government accused of failing Cork flood victims
Residents of the Mardyke area, which bore the brunt of the mini-tsunami which engulfed the city on November 19, gathered at a public meeting for an update from community leaders on their campaign for answers about what caused the disaster.
But they were told that exactly 11 months since the flood, they are still no closer to those answers.
They were told that repairs to two flood-breached quay walls hadn’t started and there are no flood protection measures in place to protect the city.
The Mardyke Residents Association also published details of “fruitless correspondence” it has had with various Government ministers on the issues in recent months.
Spokesman Barry Keane said the letters prove why people lose faith in the state.
The residents first wrote to Environment Minister John Gormley in July following publication of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Heritage and Local Government’sreport into the state’sresponse to last winter’s weather. It said there was “an urgent necessity” for an independent investigation into the flooding of the Lee Valley and Cork city downstream of Inniscarra dam on November 19 and 20, 2009. The ESB, which manages the Inniscarra dam, said at the time it had no option but to discharge water at an unprecedented 535 cubic metres per second to avoid uncontrolled flooding as water was entering the Lee catchment at over 800 cubic metres a second.
The residents asked Mr Gormley to follow through on the committee’s recommendation.
But it was September before the minister’s position was outlined in detail.
He said the review of the state’s response to the severe weather was being co-ordinated by the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning, which is chaired by Defence Minister Tony Killeen.
The residents then wrote to the Department of Defence in late September seeking an update on the Task Force’s work. A detailed response is awaited.
The residents have also written to the Department of Energy, which oversees the ESB, seeking the ESB’s own technical reports into the flood disaster. A response is awaited.
Mr Keane said the paper trail is a damning indictment of the Government’s attitude towards those worst affected by the flood.
He called on Fine Gael and Labour to commit to a public inquiry in any programme for government they might agree, with a time span for the start and finish of the inquiry, and an agreement to implement any report as a matter of urgency.
Fine Gael TD Deirdre Clune slated the Government’s response.
“It is an absolute disgrace and it leaves the people of Cork very vulnerable,” she said.
“It is absolutely alarming that no reassurances have been given or efforts made to prevent further flooding.”
But Green Party chairman Senator Dan Boyle defended his party leader and accused opposition politicians of “hugely misleading” residents.
“Of course, I understand residents’ frustration,” he said. “But the minister with responsibility for flood protection is Martin Mansergh.
“Minister Gormley never had responsibility for this area. In fact, he released over €3m of funding less than two weeks after the flood to help Cork City Council deal with its emergency response.”
He said he will continue to press his party colleague Eamon Ryan to pursue the ESB for its reports on the flood.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
