Midleton residents to protest over slow rollout of flood defences after Storm Babet devastation
Protesters estimate that at the current pace of about 30 homes a month, it will be 2026 before all barriers are installed. Picture: Chani Anderson
Residents in the area worst hit by Storm Babet in 2023 are to protest over the lack of progress on flood prevention and mitigation measures.
Members of the Midleton and East Cork Flood Protection Group say Cork County Council has failed to act urgently and will mount the first of two protests next Monday.
The demonstration will take place at the council’s offices in County Hall, Cork city.
The second protest will be held on October 18 to mark the second anniversary of Storm Babet.
The action comes despite a pledge by OPW Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran to speed up a €5.8m scheme designed to protect homes from flooding.
Set up last year, around 650 of the 725 valid applications for the Midleton and East Cork Individual Property Protection (IPP) Scheme remain incomplete, according to Cork County Council figures from July.
Since then, the number of completed properties has only risen to 74.
Protesters estimate that at the current pace of about 30 homes a month, it will be 2026 before all barriers are installed.
“This isn’t acceptable," said Caroline Leahy, a Midleton-based member of the group.
“The delays are just endless and as we approach the second anniversary of Storm Babet, and Ireland’s storm season, we are petrified about what lies in store for us.
“The excuses are not just about the barriers designed to delay the flow of water into our houses in the event of a flood, but also around the bigger, more expensive flood prevention scheme.
“Midleton should be a wake-up call for the rest of the country.
“If the State, in all its manifestations both locally and centrally, can preside over the farcical handling of flood defences in Midleton, you can be sure it will be the same anywhere else in the country should there be places that end up as badly hit as Midleton was.
“These were the worst floods in living memory, yet, all we are hearing about are the endless commissioning of reports, and really basic work being carried out.
“We are not seeing a government that is taking this seriously enough and the lack of progress completely undermines its promises to the people of Midleton.”
Some 600 houses and 300 businesses were damaged in Storm Babet, with some businesses closing permanently, with damages estimated between €180m and €200m.
Aerial photographs taken by Guileen Coast Guard, published in Ireland and abroad, showed the shocking extent of the flooding, with major routes and open spaces submerged.
When pressed on Midleton residents’ concerns, Mr Boxer Moran said last month he understood their “frustrations.”
He added: “As minister, I have their back and I’m here to work with them.”
He told the it would be “unfair” to ask the council to set a deadline for installing all IPP scheme barriers.
Cork County Council, when asked about delays, said it is “aware of concerns around the timeline” but insisted progress depends on “the level of uptake and the market response.”
It also said the scale of the IPP scheme “vastly exceeds that of any similar scheme delivered in Ireland or wider Europe.”
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