Longford meeting addressed fury over the recent excessive flooding on their land

There was palpable anger in the meeting room of Ballyleague’s St Faithleachs GAA clubhouse last Friday morning as locals gathered before the Minister for the Office of Public Works, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, to voice their fury over the recent excessive flooding on their land as well as extensive water damage caused to some houses.

This is the first time parts of the area have suffered such severe flooding and according to affected residents, the blame for this lies at the door of Bord na Móna (BNM) who are carrying out rewetting works nearby. BNM has staunchly rejected this accusation.

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A number of affected locals have also cited BNM’s lack of drain maintenance as having contributed to the flooding.

They say BNM had previously maintained the drains as it was necessary for the water to flow freely in order for the bogs to remain dry for turf cutting and peat extraction.

Once these activities ceased however, so too did BNM’s drain maintenance, locals claim.

On invitation from local MEP Ciarán Mullooly, Minister Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran attended the meeting in Ballyleague and met with the residents whose lands were significantly damaged.

Despite noticing the anger and concern of the locals, the minister remained defiant in his view that playing the blame game would prove a fruitless exercise, citing his preference to bring together all bodies involved so the source of the problem could be established and a solution determined.

Minister Moran told the ‘Longford Leader’ that the next step would be to arrange a meeting with Roscommon County Council, Bord na Móna officials, and Coillte representatives so they could discuss the issues with the drains as well as the flooding on lands located near where the bog rewetting work is being carried out.

Minister Moran said, “It is alarming because as the farmers said to me, they've never seen water in these fields before. That's worrying.

“One farmer had a picture where he's looking out at fields of water where just two, three weeks ago, he had bailed hay in them. He had never seen water there before.

“So there's an issue. As I said in the room when people were pointing fingers, I won't agree that we take on one, or blame one, or blame the other. I think if we all sit around the table and see is there a resolution, it's a better outcome for everybody that's involved.”

When asked if there should be ramifications for the party responsible for the flooding, the minister replied, “Well, I’m not going to go on record or speak about any organisation that people want to say are responsible.

“My whole role is, I always believe sitting around the table is the best form of dialogue, to try and get action.

“The problem I have is while I have funding available to help the local authority, I need to see where they're at.

“We also need to look where the flooding is and what's the cause of the flooding and then we also need to find a resolution.”
Minister Moran added, “We'll convene with all bodies involved annd look at the photographs and videos being presented and look at the map and see what caused this problem. If a field didn't flood before, and as a farmer said in the meeting, he's on that land all his life and he never had water on that land before, so then we have to see where the issue is.

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“It may be that there's a culvert in need of being upgraded or vegetation that needs clearing from the rivers.”

The minister also added, “The anger in the room, I felt it and I understand it, but I believe in having all agencies around the table. I'll chair the meeting and I'll try and get a resolution as part of the overall project.”