Galway Bay fm newsroom – Questions are being raised over the ability of Galway County Council to deliver badly needed flood relief works across South Galway, with current available resources in terms of funding and personnel.
Galway East TD Ciaran Cannon says that despite the approach of winter, a large number of significant works remain incomplete – with many still in the early planning stages.
It follows unprecedented flooding last winter which saw vast tracts of land flooded and over sixty homes surrendered to rising waters – with the cleanup cost estimated at up to 20 million euro.
Fine Gael Deputy Cannon is pointing to works in Kiltiernan and Ballinderreen for which funding was secured last November.
He’s calling on OPW Minister and fellow Galway East TD Sean Canney to transfer a dedicated flood relief engineer from the OPW to the local authority to oversee the design and delivery of such projects.
Deputy Cannon says it’s crucial that flood defence works are delivered in a shorter timeframe, and believes a new dedicated unit needs to be established to oversee the delivery of flood relief works.
In a statement to Galway Bay fm news, Galway County Council says it has engaged in a major clean up operation during the flooding of December 2015 and extending up to April 2016.
Since April, Galway County Council says it’s engaged with the Office of Public works and the Department of Transport seeking funding and assistance with the necessary works brought about by flooding.
A total of 11 Minor Works Schemes have been submitted to the OPW to date for funding, and over 7 of these schemes have been approved with works completed by Galway County Council.
The council has been granted up to €6 million in funding to address roads that were flooded throughout the county during the winter floods.
In addition to undertaking its roads programme, Galway County Council says it’s currently undertaking substantial work on raising roads, especially in South Galway.
The local authority says the work programme will continue into the autumn and will include repair works and culverting of drains affected by flooding.
In relation to the Kiltiernan to Ballindereen scheme, Galway County Council says it’s required to consider the environmental implication of the works.
These requirements are currently the subject of discussions between the OPW, Galway County Council and National Parks and Wildlife Services.
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