Revealed: The ‘interim flood measures’ designed to protect Enniscorthy in the short to medium-term

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

In the wake of an event which saw 36 people evacuated from their homes, 60 businesses requiring financial assistance, and community support hubs activated throughout the county, Wexford County Council (WCC) has announced a number of interim measures to safeguard against future flooding events.

While a widescale flood defence scheme for Enniscorthy remains in the planning stage and will, upon completion, provide long-term security for the town and its residents, the council is now focusing on what it can do in the short to medium-term.

Already one tonne of sand bags have been installed to the rear of properties on Island Road in Enniscorthy and they will remain in place indefinitely. In addition, an aqua dam will be permanently placed on Shannon Quay and an earth bank will be constructed around The Waterfront Pool & Leisure Centre.

The wall on Abbey Quay will be raised by approximately 300mm with demountable barriers installed at the pedestrian gaps; there will be also be pump sumps (designed to collect unwanted groundwater, seepage, or rainwater) on both Abbey Quay and Shannon Quay. The Promenade will be protected with an aqua dam and an earth bank while WCC is also exploring the possibility of erecting electronic information signs on the Quay with real-time updates on the status of the River Slaney.

Away from Enniscorthy, there will be interim measures provided for both Bunclody and Bridgetown with a temporary earth bund (a compacted bank of soil) being assessed for Ryland Road in the former and additional bunds and pump sumps scheduled for Bridgetown.

Lastly, another aqua dam will be placed along the entire Quay front in Wexford town to prevent future wave overtopping.

At a special meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC), chief executive Eddie Taaffe said he was confident the Office of Public Works (OPW) will fund all these measures in the “coming weeks” and stressed that these works were designed to temporarily protect Enniscorthy while the flood defence scheme awaits planning approval.

“Because these are interim works there’s always a risk that they won’t defend us from future flooding events, we can’t guarantee that if there’s a flood of similar properties that these measures will protect the affected properties, but we have to try and that’s what we’re going to do,” he said.

Although there is a growing sense of impatience regarding the flood defence scheme, Mr Taaffe stated the importance of following all procedures and avoiding a repeat of 2022 when an application was rejected due to the presence of the freshwater pearl in the River Slaney.

“The flood defence scheme is going to take time,” he said, “we can’t bypass planning and we have to demonstrate that what we’re proposing is the best solution. It’s exceptionally complex and we can’t have a repeat of what happened with the previous application.”

The cost of repairing the homes and businesses damaged by the floods is likely to run in to the millions, but the impact on the county’s roads remains incalculable at this moment in time.

“We have commenced fixing the roads, but it will take many weeks to get back to where we were before,” said Mr Taaffe. “The damage is extensive, we’re still collating and assessing the data but have started works on some of them. We have roads which have completely disintegrated, the entire structure has failed and needs to be replaced.”

Given that Co Wexford’s roads were considered among the worst in the country even prior to the floods there is an expectation, and a hope, that central government will significantly increase the county’s annual budget for repairs when it announces its allocations later this month.

And Councillor Michael Sheehan called for a special, one-off payment for Co Wexford.

“We need a full report on the status of all the roads in the county and upon completion, a one-off payment from the government,” he said. “If not, WCC is going to start receiving claims about damaged cars from members of the public.”

Fearing that Wexford would soon become the “Atlantis of Ireland”, Cllr Jim Codd said motorists in the county were paying over the odds for roads which were no longer fit for purpose.

“We’re expected to have NCTs on our cars so that they’re fit for our roads, but we also have to have roads that are fit for cars,” he said. “Are people going to be reimbursed for the damage to their cars?”

Having visited the homes of those directly impacted by the floods, including elderly residents who woke up with their beds “surrounded by water that had come in through the walls”, Cllr Barbara Anne Murphy said it was impossible to “quantify the stress people are experiencing”.

“They are grieving for the loss of their homes and their sense of security, they are at a loss as to how they are going to keep going,” she said. “There were 14 houses and four businesses flooded in Bunclody and the people there feel abandoned because there was no plan (for them).

"We need to have an emergency plan in place for people in Bunclody and Enniscorthy so they know what to do if there’s a next time, and we have to install flood defence barriers for doorways at homes in the villages, front and back.”

Cllr Aidan Browne had also witnessed the devastation caused by the floods first-hand and described the scenes in his native Enniscorthy as “heart breaking”.

“The interim measures will help but we need to push on the main scheme and have monthly meetings with the OPW to discuss its status,” he added.

Meanwhile, Cllr Aoife Rose O’Brien called for an amnesty on commercial and local authority rates for businesses and homes impacted by the flood but was informed that, regardless of the circumstances, WCC still had to balance its books.

Chief Executive of Wexford County Council Eddie Taaffe explaining the situation to Minister Kevin Boxer Moran in Enniscorthy. Photo: Jim Campbell

“We will adopt a flexible approach to rates but we can’t provide an amnesty,” replied Mr Taaffe. “We will will work with those affected on a payment plan but ultimately we have to balance our books, all those impacted can receive financial compensation from the government aid scheme.”

Although the focus of the meeting was on prevention and protection, and on holding firm until flood defence schemes were in place, Cllr Leonard Kelly dared to suggest that parts of Co Wexford could, as Cllr Codd predicted, end up being permanently underwater.

“There’s more difficult conversations to be had further down the line like our neighbours across the water in Wales,” he said. “There are some valleys in Wales where conversations are being had with communities about leaving the area. This is not for now, but 10-15 years down the road.”

During his visit to Enniscorthy Taoiseach Micheál Martin had said that, contrary to popular opinion, he did not have a “magic wand” to automatically make the floods disappear. His party colleague, Cllr Lisa McDonald, took issue with this.

“Politicians don’t seem to make decisions any more, they just rely on reports, which means, whether we like it or not, engineers are running the country,” she said. “Democracy is working too slowly, we need to react to climate change, accept it’s here, and start doing something about it.”

Addressing Cllr Barbara Anne Murphy’s request regarding flood barriers, Mr Taaffe said the council’s engineers were “formulating a list of properties” which require additional supports and that an application for standalone supplies would be made thereafter.

On the issue of the roads, Mr Taaffe said he was “confident” the council will receive funding to carry out sufficient repairs.

“We are assessing the potential cost, but we are pushing an open door with this, there’s a realisation in central government of how important this is.”