Plans finally lodged for South Galway flood relief programme

A local campaign that has its roots at the time of the foundation of the State finally looks set to take a step forward, with a planning application being lodged for a major flood relief programme for South Galway.

Following a consultation process with landowners and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Galway County Council has lodged a planning application with An Bord Pleanála for the works for the Dunkellin and Aggard Rivers.

Through the decades, the rivers have caused devastation for local homeowners, while thousands of acres of land are subject to extensive flooding each winter.

If given the go-ahead by An Bord Pleanála, work could begin next summer on the scheme.

Galway East Fine Gael TD, Ciarán Cannon, said the scheme would be the biggest-ever investment by the State in flood relief.

He told the Connacht Tribune: “I’m confident that planning permission will be granted and that the investment will be made by the Office of Public Works.

“This is a very important milestone in the process of bringing these works to fruition. Having been the subject of Dáil debates since the 1950s, the Dunkellin Flood Relief project is now edging closer to a final conclusion.

“We have never been this close before and we will continue to work hard in getting this project over the line. The team in the County Council have worked so diligently on addressing this challenge by actively engaging with local landowners and the NPWS to design the optimum flood relief programme and one which is very likely to receive planning permission from An Bord Pleanála.

“The planning process will take six to eight months and Council officials have indicated that once permission is granted they can immediately commence the tendering process for the works.

“All going well, we will see the works getting underway early next summer which is the preferred time for a project of this nature. If we get water moving freely and unimpeded along the Aggard and Dunkellin rivers from to the sea, this will address a major part of the flooding problem in South Galway.

“There are other flood relief projects proposed for the area which also need to be brought to fruition and I’m continuing to work on those with my colleagues in Government.

“I recall as a child hearing repeated calls for flood relief on the Dunkellin and each winter, as the flood waters claimed thousands of acres of farm land, the conversation would begin again. My colleague Brian Hayes was, up to recently, the Minister with responsibility for the OPW and he visited the area in April of this year. He met with many members of the affected communities and they all stressed the importance of bringing this project to a conclusion.

“Our new Minister, Simon Harris, also visited the area recently and again confirmed that it was a priority of his department to get works underway, but that major works couldn’t commence until planning permission had been granted. That’s why this week’s news of the planning application is so significant,” said Deputy Cannon.