James Browne urges council to submit flood defence plans for Enniscorthy – ‘I will ensure any application when received is expedited’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

As relief efforts continue and the people of Enniscorthy come to terms with the impact of Storm Chandra, Housing Minister James Browne TD has placed the onus on Wexford County Council (WCC) to deliver a flood defence scheme for the town.

Vowing to “expedite” any application to fund a flood defence scheme for Enniscorthy, Deputy Browne said WCC must first submit such an application to central government.

“There is currently no application for funding for a flood relief scheme for Enniscorthy with the government,” he said. “The local authority, in this case Wexford County Council, develops the relief scheme with the Office of Public Work (OPW) and then applies to the government for funding.”

Although, WCC’s special projects team is working alongside the OPW to design a scheme and have presented their plans to the public on two separate occasions, no formal application for funding has yet been submitted. Those plans include the removal of the Seamus Rafter Bridge, the construction of a new River Slaney Bridge, and the construction of a new pedestrian bridge in Enniscorthy town centre.

A planning application for the first phase of these works is expected to be submitted in Q3 of this year and, once it has been received, Deputy Browne said the money is available and he will do everything in his power to ensure it is approved.

“I encourage WCC to develop and submit an application as soon as possible. Any such application will have my 100 pc support and I will ensure any application when received is expedited. Government funding for the scheme is available, but there needs to be an application from the local authority.

"The people of Enniscorthy deserve a shoulder to the wheel from everyone and I won’t accept anything less than 100 pc.”.

The minister's comments come a day after he pledged to bring Met Éireann before a Dáil committee to get to the bottom of a Status Yellow rain warning that allegedly failed to anticipate the flooding of Enniscorthy.

Speaking on South East Radio, Minister Browne said: “I’m really frustrated that some state agencies seem to think it’s their duty to somehow withhold information,” he said. “I don’t know whether there was a possibility of an earlier warning – I’ll let Met Éireann defend themselves in that respect, if they can. But in general, I think Met Éireann have to step up their communication.

“We will be bringing Met Éireann in. There needs to be an understanding that information is not to be guarded. Information is to be put out there.”

In a statement, Met Eireann said: “As a line division of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Met Éireann is focused on our role of monitoring, analysing and predicting Ireland’s weather, climate and flooding, and supporting emergency planning responses to weather events, such as Storm Chandra. As such, our services, operations and engagement with all stakeholders are always evolving to meet current and future needs.”

Opposition TDs have labelled criticism of Met Éireann by Deputy Browne as “disgraceful”.