Midleton residents to protest slow pace of flood defences three years after Storm Babet

Six hundred houses and 300 businesses were damaged during Storm Babet, forcing some businesses to close permanently and with damages estimated between €180m and €200m. Photo: Guileen Coast Guard unit

A protest is planned for next month in Midleton over the delayed roll out of flood defences in the East Cork area almost three years after Storm Babet.

Members of the Midleton and East Cork Flood Protection Group are holding the protest due to what they feel has been a lack of action in improving flood protection measures in the wider East Cork area.

Six hundred houses and 300 businesses were damaged during Storm Babet, forcing some businesses to close permanently and with damages estimated between €180m and €200m.

The protest, which will commence at 12 noon on October 17 from Market Green retail park in Midleton, will call on the government to implement adequate flood protection measures to safeguard lives, homes and businesses in East Cork.

Caroline Leahy, secretary of the Midleton and East Cork Flood Protection Group, told the Irish Examiner that among the main reasons for holding the protest is that "not much has changed on the ground really to give us protection".

“As things stand currently on the ground, we are as much at risk now as we would have been pre-Babet. For us as a group, we didn't think that we would still be here three years later.” 

Ms Leahy said the lack of action on flood defences has caused a significant amount of stress and anxiety for people in East Cork.

“We thought it was such an obvious thing that needed help. That it would be just, considering how bad it was, that it would just be a fairly quick all-hands-on-deck approach and that it would be dealt with.

So, to be three years on and still going into another winter now, with that fear still hanging over us — people are really annoyed, really angry and really scared.

“Because as the years go on, if it can happen once, it can happen again and it probably will happen again. We can't really do anything to protect ourselves. It is all in the hands of somebody else and that is kind of a scary place to be.” 

With the three-year anniversary of Storm Babet upcoming on October 18, the Midleton and East Cork Flood Protection Group are hoping to see action once and for all in regards to flood protection for the area.

Cork East Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide said the response by the government to flood protection in East Cork has been far too slow.

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“The Midleton Flood Relief Scheme is progressing at a frustrating pace, while villages including Mogeely, Castlemartyr, Killeagh, Ladysbridge, Rathcormac and Whitegate remain in limbo, without the certainty of clear delivery timelines. Even the interim flood barriers have been beset by problems, further undermining public confidence. 

“People who saw homes and businesses devastated should not be expected to spend every period of heavy rain wondering whether it will happen again. Three years on, East Cork needs urgency on flood relief. Midleton’s scheme must be accelerated and the surrounding villages given clear, funded plans for permanent flood protection."