Joined-up thinking on clean-up of river urged

Some areas of Co Cork could be at increased risk of flooding due to a lack of joined-up thinking on river clean-ups by the new municipal districts.

That is the claim of Fine Gael councillor Tim Lombard, who told a council meeting that local authority staff had cleaned one section of the Owenabue River, but warned this work would simply speed up water flowing into Ballinhassig village, which has flooded three times in the last five years.

Mr Lombard pointed out that the riverbed on the other side of Ballinhassig was still full of debris and this meant water could back up, increasing the likelihood of flooding in the village.