Politicians have ‘not a bit of interest’ in my situation, says flood victim

A victim of the flooding which caused millions of euro worth of damage this winter says he is angry over revelations that State bodies which formed to manage flood risk failed to meet for years at a time.

Paddy Towey has not returned to his Offaly home since a deluge of floodwater rushed into the house on December 7.

Earlier this week, a Comptroller and Auditor General report found that officials in control of “flood risk and response” did not sit down together from 2009 until July 2015. It reported that a second group, overseen by the Office of Public Works and charged with assessing and managing flood risk based on the study of river catchments, did not meet for four years up to November 2014.