Minister promises to speed up East Cork flood relief works

By Peter McCarthy, Corkman

Minister of State Kevin Boxer Moran has pledged to drive forward efforts to protect East Cork from the kind of flooding that devastated it during the torrential rainfall brought by Storm Babet two years ago amid public frustration at the slow progress of the works.

Midleton suffered massive flooding in the October 2023 storm when a month's worth of rainfall fell on the town over two days, but other communities in East Cork were also hard hit with 136 houses flooded, according to Cork County Council figures.

In the adjacent villages of Castlemartyr and Mogeely 69 houses were flooded when the Kithna river broke its banks. Communities in Killeagh, Ladysbridge, Whitegate and Rathcormac also experienced serious flooding.

The minister was speaking at a public meeting held in Castlemartyr to discuss progress on the East Cork Flood Relief Scheme. Also in attendance were officials from the OPW and Cork County Council as well as local politicians.

Minister Moran, who has responsibility for the Office of Public Works, said that the maximum funding for a project under the OPW’s Minor Works Scheme has just been raised from €750,000 to €2m and that money can be used to help local authorities deal with issues such as river and culvert blockages.

The minister announced €116,235 in OPW funding for flood mitigation works in Mogeely and said he will set up regular meetings between his department and local authorities to ensure that flood relief schemes like the one in East Cork progress.

“And I know of the frustration that you have with all of us up here. And we don't have all the answers. But by God, I'll make sure that we work together to try and deliver it for the people, I promise you that,” he said.

The mood at the meeting was at times heated as locals questioned the progress made over the past two years. Efforts have included a Cork County Council/OPW interim scheme to provide expandable barriers to keep floodwaters from entering through doors.

The rollout of the scheme has been slow, which the council has blamed on a poor market response to both supplying the barriers and carrying out the building works required. According to the council, 2,003 barriers are needed and to date 344 have been delivered along with a quarter of the building works.

The height of the barriers has also been questioned by locals and whether they would be of any use in protecting timber-framed houses. Locals have also called for more frequent dredging of rivers and better maintenance of culverts and drains.

Following the meeting with Minister Moran, the Midleton and East Cork Flood Protection Group posted on its Facebook page that “we still have no concrete timelines for any works, anywhere. We have another winter ahead with nothing to protect us. And today, the weight of that feels absolutely crushing among the talk of reports, reviews, studies, assessments, and considerations! But no dates for shovels in the ground.”