Existence of government agency called into question as Wexford village enjoys rare respite from flooding

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

When the sun is shining it can be easy to forget that some parts of Co Wexford have been continually flooding every winter for decades. However, during these dry months, when residents in villages like Bridgetown enjoy some rare respite, works are taking place to ensure that come this winter, and those which follow, flooding will no longer be at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

The pace of those works remains a concern for local politicians, though. At the April meeting of the Rosslare Municipal District, councillors Jim Codd and Aoife Rose O’Brien requested an update on the status of a large flood defence scheme for Bridgetown.

“We are currently working in Bridgetown and are going to continue with our intermediate works and are discussing sourcing funds to keep those works going,” replied district engineer Michael Brazzill. “The report for the bigger scheme is still being compiled, I requested a modification to it and until we have it approved by ourselves and the Office of Public Works (OPW) we won’t be able to issue a time for it. I’m hoping the consultants will be be back with it this week.”

This led Cllr Codd to point the finger of blame at a notoriously elusive organisation.

“Are the OPW ghosts?” he asked. “Are we writing to real people at all here? Minister (for the OPW) Moran knows about the flooding here and he’s known about it for a long time now, is he going to give us something or not? Those banks need to installed. This has gone on too long. There was an old man taken out of a house in Bridgetown during the last big flood, he was brought to hospital and he didn’t come home. The OPW are a law unto themselves. They need to come down here and account for themselves.”

But Mr Brazzill defended those working in the OPW.

“In fairness they are supportive of the project; we need a completed report before they can sign off on it,” he replied. “That has to come from our consultants. We only have one shot at this so we want to make sure it’s right. The interim works will make a massive difference to Bridgetown. We will continue those works until the main scheme, but you will notice a reduction in the risk of floods this year.”