‘Forget about snails and think of human beings’ – Renewed calls for Enniscorthy flood scheme following another near miss

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

In the wake of a storm which saw the River Slaney swell to its edges and come close to bursting its banks there have been renewed calls to prioritise a flood defence scheme for Enniscorthy. While Storm Claudia didn’t result in the Co Wexford town experiencing the kind of severe flooding it has become accustomed to, this was down to nature rather than design.

At the November meeting of the Enniscorthy Municipal District (EMD) Councillor Jackser Owens said the people of the area could not be expected to continue to live in constant fear of heavy rainfall. Noting that the first recorded flooding event in Enniscorthy took place in 1924 and that they are still awaiting a flood defence scheme in the town almost a century later, Cllr Owens laid the blame squarely at the feet of central government.

“It’s not the fault of anyone in this room, this is the government’s fault for rejecting it in 2022, for a snail, a freshwater pearl,” he said referencing the previous decision to block the scheme due to environmental concerns and the presence of a protected species in the Slaney.

“There’s nothing being done for human beings and their properties, livelihoods, and businesses,” he continued. “It’s time for the talking to stop. There was a debate about flood relief schemes in Dáil Éireann last week and we had no TDs there talking about Enniscorthy. I watched it from 2.30-3.30 p.m. and we weren’t mentioned once.

“And yet, on Saturday morning the people on Island Road were sat waiting for the water to come in the door. They can’t live like this.”

An application for the flood relief scheme is expected to be resubmitted in Q3 of 2026 and, to that end, a public information event is due to take place in the Riverside Park Hotel on Wednesday, November 26 from 3-8 p.m.

But with no definite start date for the construction of a scheme which will include the building of flood defence walls in the town, the widening and deepening of the River Slaney, and the removal of the Seamus Rafter Bridge with the construction of a new road and pedestrian bridges, Cllr Owens remained sceptical.

“I’ve heard some people it will take six years, I was told the other day it’ll be 2028 before it’s even looked at; but we need it now. It’s the time the government and all the TDs in this county got off their backsides and get this flood relief scheme for Enniscorthy.

“There’s no more excuses for Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil, they were the ones who rejected the flood scheme, Wexford County Council (WCC) did not reject this, the government did. Forget about insects, forget about fish, forget about snails, and think of the human beings who are going through this every time there’s rain.

“They feel like they’ve been forgotten, that no one cares, and I have to agree with them."