THE first step in dealing with Limerick’s flooding problems was approved by members of the City and County Council this week when they adopted the national Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) strategy.
Amid calls for certain areas to be prioritised, the councillors were told that the strategy had a ten-year timeframe and some of the major projects could take up to five years.
Cllr Joe Pond (FF) asked that protection for the Mountshannon Road area be prioritised, while Cllr Liam Galvin (FG) said that residents of Athea “are living in fear at the back of the river. I would ask that this work be done as quickly as possible and that each district be given a detailed programme of works and a timeframe for them”.
Cllr Stephan Keary (FG) asked that definitive maps of flood risk areas be made available from a planning point of view “so that people can be advised to stay away from making an application on any area of risk”,
Cllr Marian Hurley (FG) said she hoped “the concerns about Mountshannon would be taken into account”.
Members were told that if they did not adopt the report, the Office Of Public Works (OPW) would simply carry on with works, a move which Cmhlr Séighin O’CEallaigh (SF) said caused him concern.
“The OPW said there was no flood risk in Castleconnell, which is madness,” he told the meeting.
Describing the plan for the city wetlands as irrational, Cllr John Gilligan (Ind) said he was told that the flood relief measures in that area would interfere with wildlife.
“If the banks collapse then you have a mudflat. I was told that’s going back to nature. How do you argue with that logic?” he asked.
Executive Officer Brian Kennedy reassured the members that Annacotty and the Mountshannon Road were included under the plan for Limerick City Environs.
“If this is adopted, we will be able to proceed with detailed design. This is a ten-year timeframe so some of the major works will take four or five years but minor works will be done more quickly,” he explained.
He told Cllr Gilligan that his concerns about the wetlands could be looked at as part of that process.
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