Floods: ‘Bandon caught off-guard by 40 floods in 20 years’

A report issued by Cork County Council says that 71 businesses, 19 houses, and a national school were flooded in the county when nearly 200mm of rain fell between December 4-6.

The report said the ESB recorded 199mm of rainfail on its gauges at Gougane Barra during that period. It resulted in a lot of flooding in mid and west Cork. Bandon suffered most where more than 30 homes and businesses were hit.

Mill Rd and March Rd in Skibbereen were affected by the downpour, with flooding also occurring around Inchigeela, Ballingeary, Ballyvourney, Dunmanway, and Crookstown.

It was little surprise that flooding topped the agenda at a Cork County Council meeting in County Hall yesterday, where the blame game was played out amid concern that more torrential rain is on the way.

Aerial footage shows extent of floods in Cork, 'above normal' levels of rain forecast this… https://t.co/V4em5FMKPq pic.twitter.com/pXa12GQTOp

— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) December 14, 2015

Bandon-based Fine Gael councillor James O’Donovan said the council “are at the mercy of the OPW”, which is in charge of the delayed flood prevention scheme, and wanted them to urgently meet with local authority members to identify interim works which can be done before the flood relief scheme gets underway next May.

He said Irish Water also had a sewerage scheme to complete in the town and wanted them to provide the council with a timeline for that work.

Mr O’Donovan said great credit was due to council staff and the emergency services for the work they did during the flood.

Fianna Fáil councillor Margaret Murphy-O’Mahony likened the delays in both schemes as being akin to “a Carry On film” and that no excuse was good enough to explain the hold-ups. She said the blame for inaction lay with Government ministers Simon Harris and Alan Kelly, who are in charge of the OPW and Irish Water respectively.

Clean-up of floods will cost millions of euro says minister https://t.co/r7FHZ2DtM8 via @Junomaco (DOD) pic.twitter.com/1ri7OOZ8f0

— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) December 14, 2015

Sinn Féin councillor Rachel McCarthy said it was “with absolule horror” people watched the water inundating the town again, six years after the major flood in 2009.

She said there had been promise after promise in the intervening years and that 60 businesses in Bandon were petitioning the council not to pay their rates until the flood scheme has been completed. It’s believed they pay a combined €1 million in rates to the local authority annually.

Independent Alan Coleman said one of the delays to the flood relief scheme was because the OPW backed down on a legal challenge to the tender process for it.

He said Irish Water had also “constantly moved the goalposts” on the sewerage scheme, holding that up as well.

Fine Gael councillor Kevin Murphy said Cork County Council had come in for unfair criticism because it wasn’t in charge of either scheme.

Limerick and Athlone brace for more floods https://t.co/uVD4K1dx4M pic.twitter.com/qMKNS9sQOw

— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) December 14, 2015

“A total of 40 floods have caught Bandon off-guard in the past 20 years. People need the truthful story now about what’s going to happen,” he said.

His party colleague, Mary Hegarty, said silted-up rivers needed to be dredged to help aleviate flooding.

“I went to see the situation at first hand and it was very upsetting for businesses in Bandon, which have no insurance,” said Sinn Féin councillor Paul Hayes. “We need to put pressure on the OPW. There’s been huge frustrations over the various plans for Bandon and Skibbereen. The buck has to stop with the OPW and the minister.”

Fine Gael councillor Tim Lombard said the council needed to nail down meetings now with the OPW and Irish Water to get the schemes off the ground.

Independent Declan Hurley said he didn’t know how the OPW could stand over six years of delays without even doing any interim works.

“It’s totally angering and frustrating households and businesses,” said Fianna Fáil’s Andrias Moynihan. “In Ballingeary and Inchigeela, we need flood prevention schemes advanced.”

His party colleague Ian Doyle said the council should undertake a comprehensive roadside drain and dyke clean-up. He said years of neglecting to do this had a devastating impact on the condition of the regional and local road network, especially in rural areas.

Council chief executive Tim Lucey said his crisis management team were constantly meeting to ensure as much as possible was being done as to negate flooding.

The council boss commended his staff, the fire brigade, and Civil Defence for their work.

“There are significant demands on the OPW, but it’s critical in the next five to six months that there’s clarity on the Bandon and Skibbereen schemes,” said Mr Lucey. He added that he welcomed news that the Government was helping small businesses with compensation. He said as the council wasn’t responsible for the flooding he couldn’t provide any specific rates relief to businesses.

However, he said he was willing “to work out an arrangement” for businesses who were experiencing difficulty in paying their rates.