Louth in the 'firing line' of Govt's 'tardiness' on flood defences

Labour TD Ged Nash has warned that Louth is "in the firing line" of delayed installation of flood defences. 

The Louth TD told the Dáil that rainfall events that were once one-in-a-century, are now becoming much more frequent. 

He warned that there is "huge strain on already stressed infrastructure, road networks and flood defences". 

"The severity of the storms and the impacts we are experiencing are going to become ever more complicated and we need to do more to adapt, mitigate and manage," he said. 

Deputy Nash said that dozens of "critical" flood defence projects have been "in the system for almost a decade". 

"Out of 54 large projects where some work has begun since they were prioritised for development back in 2018, the majority - 31 - are only at preliminary design stage."

"The target completion times for many of the projects run well into the 2030s but those who are suffering annual, and now more frequent, deluges simply cannot wait any longer," he said. 

The Labour TD told the Dáil that people in Louth are "in the firing line" of what he called "tardiness".

While Deputy Nash praised the work of Louth County Council, he said he wasn't sure the local authority's application of €1.2 million for emergency funding would cover the necessary repairs. 

"The problem is not confined to Dundalk and north Louth; severe damage has been caused in the south of the county as well. When we speak to local authority engineers, as we do almost daily, we hear reports of roads being flooded and a growth in the number of potholes over the last period of time," he said. 

Louth County Council confirmed that recent weather has caused 3,000 new potholes across the county. 

Deputy Nash said local authorities have been unable to repair the potholes due to them being filled with water, and said icy conditions have "exacerbated the problem".

He said that recent weather events had turned the Main Street in Blackrock into a canal, and warned that Wellington Quay in Drogheda and the River Boyne are "very vulnerable" to similar flooding events. 

"Homes and businesses in Blackrock, with which the Minister of State [Kevin "Boxer" Moran] will be familiar having visited recently, have been particularly badly hit, and areas on the Cooley Peninsula are continually finding themselves quite literally in the eye of the storm."

"The main street in Blackrock, facing onto the beach, effectively became a kind of canal in recent times, something that I have certainly not experienced in a long time. We know that when rain persists and we have these flooding events, places like Wellington Quay in Drogheda, beside the River Boyne, are very vulnerable indeed," he said.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.