Report calls for independent inquiry into Cork flooding

Pressure is mounting on Environment Minister John Gormley to order an independent inquiry into the extensive flooding in Cork city last November.

Millions of gallons of water released from the ESB dam at Iniscarra led to the River Lee bursting its banks at a number of points, causing widespread damage.

However a long-awaited report into the flooding by the cross-party Oireachtas Environment Committee failed to draw any conclusions on what caused the disaster.

The committee is to recommend that management of the dam be removed from the ESB, and the establishment of an early warning system to alert householders of impending danger.

The report, which will be published next week, took seven months to complete. It also claims a second legally binding inquiry is needed to find out what happened.