Kinvara flood news ‘doesn’t hold water’

Yet another announcement has been made on the provision of essential flood relief measures for houses along the quay in Kinvara – but a local councillor remains unconvinced.

Cllr Joe Byrne claimed that this was at least the third announcement made over the past 18 months that barriers are to be provided to protect houses from rising tides and prolonged rainfall.

More than a dozen houses were flooded during the downpours at the end of 2017 – there was also extensive flooding in 2014 – and in early 2018 a commitment was given that measures would be put in place to protect the 19 houses along the quay.

And even last weekend, following Friday’s prolonged downpours, the houses were under threat with rising tides but fortunately they escaped being flooded on this occasion.

But Cllr Byrne said that he was ‘sick and tired’ of such announcements being made over the past year and a half with nothing to show for it.

The Fine Gael councillor said that he has been informed on a number of occasions that progress was being made but yet no application for funding had been submitted.

This week, Minister Sean Canney stated that he had received confirmation from Galway County Council that it is to begin a survey and costing of a Minor Works Scheme to tackle the problem.

He said that an application for funding would be made to the Office of Public Works and that this process will commence in the next four to six weeks

“After the properties along the quay flooded two years ago, I brought the Minister for the Office of Public Works Kevin Moran to Kinvara to see at first hand the devastation caused.

“The Office of Public works has indicated that it will look at an application for funding under the Minor Works Scheme,” Minister Canney added.

But Cllr Byrne pointed out that both Minister Canney and Minister Moran visited Kinvara along with Council engineers back in early 2018 and the process hadn’t even gotten off the starting blocks.

“Back in 2017, salt water entered 13 houses and commercial premises while sandbags saved six others. At the time we called for individual property protection to be provided.

“We were visited by the Ministers and assured that individual property protection wold be provided but it has been a long and very frustrating wait”, he said.

During mid-2018, all houses were visited by the Council engineers and the door openings were measured to facilitate the fitting of barriers to individual dwellings that would rise in the event of the threat of flooding.

A couple of months later there was another announcement about an application being submitted for the flood relief scheme to be funded but again nothing came of this.

“This is a totally unacceptable situation for the residents and commercial property owners in the quay area of Kinvara to have waited 18 months since the first confirmation from Minister Canney,” Cllr Byrne added.