Three Cork councils to be granted €700k to help with ‘exceptional costs’ of floods

Three local authorities in Cork are to be granted €700,000 to help with “exceptional costs” incurred as a result of recent flooding.

Environment Minister Phil Hogan will today announce the funding which will cover clean-up costs, the repair of roads, and reconstruction of certain public facilities.

It will not be extended to individual households affected by last month’s severe weather, which are entitled to avail of a €10m hardship fund put in place following flooding in Dublin last year.

A separate fund to help business owners who are not covered by insurance is also under consideration, and could be put in place in the autumn.

Mr Hogan yesterday told his cabinet colleagues that his department will provide €300,000 to Clonakilty Town Council, €150,000 to Cork City Council, and €250,000 to Cork County Council.

The decision, he said, was made “in recognition of the exceptional costs to be met by the councils”.

“The €700,000 that I am making available will provide necessary financial support to the local authorities concerned.”

He praised the “leadership roles” of local authorities in dealing with the aftermath of the floods and thanked their employees for “the effective responses taken at local level”.

The Jun 29 deluge resulted in serious damage to businesses and homes in Douglas, Blackpool, and Ballyvolane in the city, as well as Clonakilty.

In Glanmire, 49 homes in the Meadowbrook Estate were flooded up to depths of 3ft when the Glashaboy river burst its banks.

Cork South West TD Jim Daly said he has discussed with Mr Hogan the need for a fund to help business people who had no insurance as a result of the 2009 flooding.

He said he has been told that negotiations are ongoing between Mr Hogan and Finance Minister Michael Noonan, and he expects some agreement on the issue in the autumn.