Resident of flood-hit Cork village tells committee they 'live in fear every time it rains'

Vivienne Jeffers from Mogeely also called on councils and developers to 'stop building on flood plains'

Vivienne Jeffers was close to tears as she said: 'We lost our children's baby photographs, the door frame where I marked their growing heights, the sense of safety that makes the house a home.' Picture: Neil Michael

A resident of a village regularly hit by floods was close to tears in the Oireachtas as she pleaded for urgent action to defend communities against flooding.

TDs also heard her call for developers to “stop building on flood plains” and for the Government to give Cork County Council cash it had promised but failed to provide.

Gleann Fia Residents Association secretary Vivienne Jeffers, described her village of Mogeely as somewhere residents still “live in fear every time it rains”.

“We're not asking for special treatment,” she said of the work needed to avoid the level of devastation that hit homes in the village during Storm Babet in October 2023.

“We're asking for fairness, urgency and protection, for our homes, our families and our peace of mind.”

She was close to tears as she said: “We lost our children's baby photographs, the door frame where I marked their growing heights, the sense of safety that makes the house a home.

Vivienne Jeffers: 'We're asking for fairness, urgency and protection, for our homes, our families and our peace of mind.' Picture: Neil Michael

“But what terrifies me most is what happens if my luck runs out next time? I can't bear the thought of losing my children, not to water, and certainly not to government delay and inaction."

She was one of four residents' representatives from East Cork petitioning the Oireachtas Petitions Committee for urgent action on flood relief for Rathcormac, Castlemartyr, Killeagh, and Mogeely.

She and other residents referenced countless studies that had been carried out and reports and plans that had been written and approved over the years but nothing had come of them.

In May 2024, for example, she said the OPW promised approval for an academic study into how Mogeely could benefit from natural flood defences and “simple measures that could have been completed within weeks”.

Nothing, however, came of the measures proposed in that study, she said.

She also said that “inaction” has led to a situation where land that was once set aside for flood protection is now being lined up for commercial development.

Ms Jeffers also flagged the fact that Coillte land above the village is ready for natural defences that could protect not just Mogeely but also neighbouring villages.

Vivienne Jeffers: 'I can't bear the thought of losing my children, not to water, and certainly not to government delay and inaction.' Picture: Neil Michael

She also called on councils and developers to “stop building on flood plains”.

Of the work that needs to be done in her village, Castlemartyr resident Catherine Power said: “It's not rocket science.

“It's not the Nile. We're not diverting the Nile. We're just diverting excess flood water from the village through a current channel.

“We're not engineers, but we know that is the solution, and it has been identified.”

(Left to right) Cllr Eamonn Horgan and Catherine Power, members of Castlemartyr Flood Protection group with Vivienne Jeffers and Kenneth Dury, Moogley Flood Protection group, protesting at Cork County Hall in September. Picture: Jim Coughlan

Rathcormac resident Kenneth Drury told TDs everyone involved in flood planning needs to talk to local people.

“Locals know the best solution for their town,” he said. “They can help, because, when it does flood, it's the locals that deal with it — not people sitting a miles away in an office.

Social Democrats Cork East TD Liam Quaide, who lives in Midleton, said there had been “a failure since Storm Babet to respond with anywhere near the level of urgency needed”.

He said Ireland needs “an overarching agency that leads and co-ordinates on all aspects of flood relief”.