Dundalk and north Louth could face a ‘Doomsday scenario’ says Ó Murchú

Dundalk and north Louth could face a ‘Doomsday scenario’ if work to examine defects in flood protection infrastructure is not started immediately, Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú has said.

The Dundalk TD was speaking after a week of unprecedented scenes of destruction in Cooley following record-breaking rainfall which also left parts of Dundalk under water.

Deputy Ó Murchú said it can “no longer be the case the Louth County Council are fighting on multiple fronts when the deluge comes”.

He called for work to start “immediately” on finding out what caused the flooding of Carlingford and other areas and, crucially, what needs to be done to ensure that the catastrophic damage does not happen again.

He said: “It has been a devastating and heart-breaking week for many people, particularly those who have seen their homes and businesses destroyed by flood waters caused by torrential rain and to whom Cllr. Antóin Watters and I spoke at length.

“The issues at the forefront of people’s minds are the need for maximum flexibility in the government compensation schemes and for the remedial works on roads, bridges and other infrastructure to be done as soon as possible.

“With climate change, we know and accept that this type of rain could and will come again, but there will be no excuses the next time for not being prepared for it.

“All the resources, with no quibbling, have to be given to Louth County Council, as the lead agency, to look at what happened and to put measures in place, quickly, to ensure that the Doomsday scenario does not come to pass. In Dundalk, the only thing that stopped hundreds of homes from being flooded was that there was no further significant rainfall.

“We are talking about starting with an honest assessment of the council’s response to this, where the gaps were and what could have been done better. That needs to be completed before the end of this year.

“And officials have to be upfront about it – the council’s response needs to be better at dealing with these kind of emergencies and they need to use every available resource they have.

“They also have to reach out to other agencies, such as central government, to demand assistance and expertise to put infrastructure in place to ensure that last week’s dreadful scenes are not repeated.

“In addition, there needs to be a proper look at Uisce Eireann and their role in providing wastewater and combined drain systems that are fit for purpose. There are concerns that the reason roads in parts of Dundalk such as Bay Estate and Cluan Enda flooded so badly was that there is not enough capacity at the pumping station on the Coe’s Road.

“This needs to be addressed urgently and in a collaborative fashion. And the government has to take responsibility for the interminably long time it is taking to get flood defences, under the CFRAM programme, constructed and working.”