Tons and tons of bog came down - Bohan

"This stuff doesn't go away. There were tons and tons of actual bog that came down so that is why we asked the minister to try and make funds available for a special drainage programme for the land that is still affected."

Cllr Mary Bohan was speaking at the latest Manorhamilton District Meeting about a motion she put forward requesting special funding for the drainage of rivers and drains following the Shass Mountain landslide in June 2020, north-east of Drumkeeran.

She said that "while farmers got some compensation, it wouldn't have covered the cost of drainage."

In a response from Patrick O’Donovan TD, Minister of State at the Office of Public Works and Flood Relief, he said that this area does not form part of any Arterial Drainage Scheme which would fall under the remit of the Office of Public Works (OPW) under the 1945 Arterial Drainage Act. The OPW therefore has no responsibility for the maintenance of the channel, nor any authority to carry out any works there."

Local flooding, is in the first instance, a matter for each local authority to investigate and address. The Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme was introduced by the OPW on an administrative, non-statutory basis in 2009. Applications for funding from local authorities are considered for flood relief and erosion protection measures costing up to €750,000 in each instance. 

Cllr Bohan made the suggestion that, "if a private contractor was in there for a week or two, they would be able to find a solution to it" and was backed by her fellow members.