SINN Féin TD for Limerick, Maurice Quinlivan, has strongly criticised the interdepartmental group set up to work with the OPW for the management of flood risk after it emerged that it didn’t meet for four years and the main group for almost six years.
Deputy Quinlivan said that this was wholly irresponsible and unacceptable when so many families were driven from their homes by the floodwaters.
“To the people of Corbally, King’s Island, Castleconnell, other flooded parts of Limerick, this is not good enough. Families were driven from their homes by rising flood waters, others only remained through the sterling work of the emergency services and the decency of neighbours”, he said.
“I had dealings with the head of the interdepartmental group, Brian Hayes MEP, when he came to Limerick in 2014. He guaranteed me that we would have all the funding we needed to make sure that the flooding like we saw in King’s Island wouldn’t happen again.
“Limerick never saw Brian Hayes or any funding after that”, Deputy Quinlivan declared.
“There has to be a serious look at how we approach flooding and flood prevention in this country. Sinn Féin has already put forward the idea of a Shannon River Management body. Firstly though, the flood management group need to offer an explanation to the Irish people for the dereliction of their duty.”
by Alan Jacques
