Engineering group attend Midleton floods meeting

There were some very powerful contributions from business owners and residents at a flood consultation meeting in Midleton this week.

The meeting in Midleton Park Hotel on Tuesday was attended by management from Cork County Council, the Office of Public Works (OWP) and engineering consultants Arup.

A strong theme of the meeting was the need for a greater sense of urgency around measures that can be pursued in advance of the Midleton Flood Relief Scheme being completed.

Residents and business spoke of living in fear that a flood event of a similar scale as that of 18 October could happen again at any stage.

There was a strong degree of frustration expressed with the lengthy process of the flood relief scheme with many speakers appealing to Cork County Council officials and the OPW to work with the community on interim measures.

Concerns were also raised about a need for greater co-ordination of actions from multiple agencies, including Inland Fisheries Ireland and the Department of Agriculture, as well as Cork County Council and the OPW, to meet the flood mitigation challenges.

Cork County Council officials said they were assessing potential short-medium term measures, as well as being committed to the broader flood relief scheme. They also confirmed that the council was in the process of setting up a steering group of business representatives and public representatives who could interact with the council periodically on the progress of the flood relief scheme.

The Midleton and Area Chamber of Commerce requested a follow up meeting with Cork County Council and the OPW in three months’ time.

At the council’s budget meeting on Monday, Social Democrats Cllr Liam Quaide urged the Council to provide wider engagement with affected residents in East Cork.

He said: “I’ve met with residents of villages outside Midleton in recent days who have similar concerns and who are very keen to have similar engagement.”

Tuesday’s meeting follows a discussion in the Dáil between Cork Sinn Féin TD Pat Buckley and Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Kieran O'Donnell of Fine Gael.

Deputy Buckley said: “People want to know what the plan is going forward. We cannot predict everything. There is no certainty, but is there going to be a plan?”

Deputy O’Donnell responded: “There is a system in place to deal with emergencies like that in Midleton. It was a very difficult time, particularly for the businesses and the residents. However, there are structures in place. If the deputy has thoughts on what he feels would be an enhancement, I suggest he make them known to my department.”