Floods in Cooley ‘far beyond anything that the current infrastructure can cope with'

The full clean-up effort has not started in north Louth as residents in areas affected by flooding continue to turn their attention the forthcoming storm, Sinn Féin councillor Antóin Watters has said.

The Dundalk-Carlingford representative spent Monday night and Tuesday in areas affected by unprecedented rainfall in Cooley and Carlingford.

He was joined yesterday afternoon by his colleague, Louth TD Ruairí Ó Murchú, who said the damage being caused in North Louth and parts of Dundalk was ‘shocking and incredibly sad’.

Cllr Watters said the floods experienced in Cooley were "far beyond what anyone can remember" and "clearly far beyond anything that the current infrastructure can cope with".

The Sinn Féin councillor and TD both praised the efforts of the council staff who had been on the ground in Dundalk and North Louth since the flooding started, but said the local authority "has a huge amount of work to do to ensure that the right infrastructure and capacity to deal with these kind of events are in place for the future".

Cllr Watters also praised the community spirit in Carlingford and the surrounding area which saw neighbours and friends helping throughout two nights to try to save homes and businesses from the water.

He said he was meeting local authority officials at Trinity Close, Carlingford this afternoon to survey the damage done to council houses which were flooded.

Parts of Dundalk were also badly affected, with Bay Estate, Cluan Enda, Avondale, Meadow View and parts of Mounthamilton bearing the brunt of record-breaking rainfall.

Deputy Ó Murchú and his colleague said the government promises around schemes designed to help homes and businesses need to be available to those in Dundalk and Cooley who are facing huge clean-up and repair costs are followed through. 

The Louth TD added: "In the aftermath of these unprecedented events, work has to be done to increase capacity in the pumping stations, in the sewer and waste water network.

"Cluan Enda and Bay Estate, and other areas, are constantly holding water and having minor floods at different times, where, after heavy rain, there are pools of water.

"There are major questions about the capacity of the system and the pumping station which need to be addressed as soon as the current crisis is over.

"Flood defences, long promised for areas around Dundalk and North Louth, need to get moving past design stage and into action".