Minister urges Save Cork City to withdraw flood defence scheme objections

However, the campaigners are pleading with councillors to abandon the OPW plans

Minister of state, Patrick O’Donovan (centre) on Marlboro St in Cork in September with Eoin O'Sullivan, Cork Business Association; John Sydenham, OPW; Ann Doherty, CEO, Cork City Council, and the Lord Mayor, Joe Kavanagh. Less than a month later, the streets in this part of Cork City were yet again deluged by flood waters. Picture: Larry Cummins

The minister in charge of the Office of Public Works (OPW) has made a direct appeal to campaigners against Cork City's flood defences to withdraw their objections or watch "regular catastrophic flooding". 

Patrick O'Donovan said that this week is crucial for the future of Cork City, and he urged the campaign group, Save Cork City, to withdraw its application for a judicial review of the proposed flood defences. 

The debate over the city's flood scheme has been bitterly divisive, with campaigners arguing that a tidal barrier is a better solution than the walled structures planned by the OPW, which they say will destroy the aesthetics of the city and fail to prevent flooding. 

"Over the next seven days, the Save Cork City group has the discretion to withdraw its application for a judicial review of the Morrison’s Island Public Realm and Flood Defence project, thereby allowing it to proceed and protect the city centre from flooding," said Mr O'Donovan, writing in the  Irish Examiner today.

Cork City Council is backing the OPW's proposed flood defence project at Morrison's Island on the south channel of the Lee — but the Save Cork City group is opposed to the development. Picture: Cork City Council

"That is an onerous decision, which should rightly weigh heavily on those involved," he said. 

"The events of October 20 again demonstrated the vulnerability of Cork City centre. Millions of euro worth of damage was caused to uninsurable businesses, already in survival mode in the midst of the Covid pandemic, which were again hit by another avertable flooding crisis.

"The affected businesses are entitled to ask: 'Is this our future now, regular catastrophic flooding and damage until we can be no more?' 

"Sadly, the answer to that is 'yes' if those who are opposed continue to avail of every legal option to prevent the implementation of a scheme which has gone through full public consultation, review, amendments, new design iterations, legal challenges, and a Bord Pleanála ruling in its favour — and which can solve the problem. 

"This scheme is ready to be built, but cannot proceed while legal challenges remain the default position of those opposed to the Morrison’s Island scheme."

In the immediate aftermath of the flooding on October 20 flooding, Save Cork City leaders said they would reconsider their position.

However, over the weekend, the group sent a 22-page letter to Cork City Council members, pleading with councillors to abandon the OPW plans.

The letter claimed the OPW is more concerned with “winning an argument” than with “addressing the real issues that still remain unresolved”.

The campaign group also rejected criticism of its tidal barrier proposal.

“We have heard the argument that flood walls be built first and support a later tidal barrier," it said.

“There are no circumstances, ever, that would give a city a maintenance issue on both a flood walls scheme and a tidal barrier and pay for both needlessly.

“The beauty of a tidal barrier is that it reduces water levels in the city and negates the OPW scheme in the historic centre. 

"We are very seriously concerned by such arguments that we see as bogus and outside the public interest.

“We have been presented with the argument that a tidal barrier is too expensive or damaging to the environment with no reasonable or independent figures presented or evidence of the comparison between the different options."