Presence of endangered birds in two Cork villages to restrict flood prevention efforts

Inchigeelagh was approved for Office of Public Works minor works funding in 2017, but this did not proceed due to environmental concerns raised by NPWS (National Parks & Wildlife Service) at the time. File picture: Denis Minihane

The presence of endangered birds in two villages designated as being in an environmentally sensitive area in Co Cork is going to significantly limit the amount of flood prevention works which can be carried out in both.

That is according to a report commissioned by Cork County Council in the Inchigeelagh and Ballingeary areas, which lie within the environmentally sensitive upper River Lee catchment, upstream of the Gearagh SAC (Special Area of Conservation).

The report stated that this significantly constrains potential flood mitigation works in those areas.

It is another setback for people living in Inchigeelagh in particular. The village was approved for Office of Public Works (OPW) minor works funding in 2017, but this did not proceed due to environmental concerns raised by NPWS (National Parks & Wildlife Service) at the time.

A meeting of the Macroom Municipal District Council heard that the council has recently commissioned bird, mammal, and aquatic ecology surveys.

While the mammal and aquatic reports are still pending, the draft bird survey is said to have identified significant ecological sensitivities, recording numerous species of conservation concern in both villages.

The Gearagh, which is around 2km south-west of Macroom, comprises a stretch of the River Lee that was dammed in the 1950s as part of a hydroelectric scheme, according to the NPWS.

The principal habitat is a shallow lake or reservoir which is fringed by wet woodland, scrub and grassland that is prone to flooding.

In the 1950s, it was designated as a Special Protection Area for nationally important populations of four species — the wigeon, teal, mallard, and coot.

The latest report was presented to councillors after queries on the advancement of flood protection measures in both Inchigeelagh and Ballingeary from Fine Gael councillor Ger Healy.

In a statement delivered to the meeting, Jerry Creedon, a senior executive engineer in the county council’s flood projects department, said that while the mammal and aquatic reports are still pending, the draft bird survey identified significant ecological sensitivities, recording numerous species of conservation concern in both villages and their surrounds.

Mr Creedon said the bird survey report concludes that "only very limited, carefully controlled manual river maintenance is likely to be environmentally acceptable".

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He said, based on its findings to date, any permissible river clearance works are "expected to be small-scale, localised and unlikely to provide significant flood risk reduction".

Mr Creedon said a pilot project is being progressed in the Ballingeary area to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of limited, ecologically supervised river works.

He added that the findings will inform any future interventions, which will require further consultation with NPWS and IFI (Inland Fisheries Ireland) before additional works can proceed in either village.

Fianna Fáil councillor Gobnait Moynihan claimed the OPW will come up with issues surrounding the existence of the likes of kingfishers in the area but that it can’t resolve flooding.

That flooding is likely to get worse in the future due to climate change, she said.