Floods: Councils to receive €8m for clean-up

Environment Minister Alan Kelly is to provide councils with €8m to pay for the cost of the clean-up after Storm Desmond.

Claims of €6.2m have so far been received from local authorities, with the final cost likely to run to tens of millions.

Although the River Shannon has stopped rising for the first time in two weeks, authorities have warned that large areas are still under severe flood warnings. Water levels are slowly beginning to fall in many areas, but homes and businesses will have to continue pumping water in the days and weeks ahead. Ten local authorities in affected areas have submitted claims, Mr Kelly said.

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

Mr Kelly said the funds are been made available given the exceptional nature of the clean-up. The funds will be used to cover overtime costs for council workers who worked to combat the floods. The monies announced do not include the cost of repairing roads damaged in recent days, and it is expected that additional funds will be channeled through in due course.

“Our hearts go out to those who have been affected by recent flooding. At any time of the year, to be affected by flooding is awful but particularly at Christmas time,” Mr Kelly said.

More than 50 homes have been evacuated since Storm Desmond hit, and many businesses have been affected.

Met Éireann forecaster Joan Blackburn said the weather will remain unsettled, with further spells of heavy rain expected in the coming week.

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

— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) December 14, 2015

“Various bands of rain will be crossing the country from time to time, and they will bring some heavy rain during various periods,” she said.

Jim Casey of the OPW stressed that although water levels are finally starting to drop, it will be some time before communities return to normal.

“Significantly we have observed for the first time in two weeks, no rise in the Shannon catchment area in the last 24 hours,” he said. “Having said that we want to stress that we are still in a severe flood situation on the Shannon catchment and it will still be necessary to battle and pump water at the areas that are currently having to do so and that will have to continue for some days yet and perhaps longer.”

He said there have been falls of around an inch in the Carrick-on-Shannon area, while in the mid-catchment area around Athlone, there has been a fall of around half an inch. Limerick city levels peaked out on Sunday evening, and has fallen by approximately four inches since then.

The Defence Forces have deployed 121 personnel in the past 24 hours in a number of areas including Athlone, Castleconnell, and Clonlara, and are helping fill sandbags and provide a shuttle service for those cut off as a result of flooding.

An emergency fund has been provided for businesses, with an initial €5,000 available to small firms in flood-prone areas who were unable to get insurance.

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Liam O’Dwyer, secretary general of the Red Cross, which oversees the funding, said the organisation has received more than 100 calls from affected businesses and a large volume of emails.

By yesterday, 15 businesses had filled in forms.