Relocating flooded families not a Coalition priority – Coveney

The possible relocation of flooded families is not a priority for Government, the Minister for Agriculture has said.

Speaking during a visit in Clonlara, southeast Clare, where families have been evacuated following the winter storms, Simon Coveney said it was "far too early" to begin such a measure.

“I don’t think that we are looking at that option at the moment,” he said.

The Minister met angry homeowners as he donned a wet suit in Springfield, Clonlara, where up to 1.82m (6ft) of floodwater has marooned many.

“We need to look at more effective ways at managing [the river Shannon] flow to prevent flooding in the future,” he said. “And, only when we have done that, will anybody concede that we have to start relocating people.”

Mr Coveney, whose native Cork city was severely flooded in 2009 after the ESB released water from the Inniscarra Dam, added that there had to be a change in how the Shannon is managed.

“We need to look at whether significant silting in parts of the Shannon are causing additional problems that could be prevented if we could move some of that silt,” he said.

"The management of the Parteen Weir and Ardnacrsuha needs to be looked at as well in the context of more extreme storms and rainfall which, clearly now, people in Ireland have to get used to," he added.

Consultation

Mr Coveney said there has been widespread public consultation, in terms of the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management report but that the Government now needed to act on those talks.

“We do need to move beyond consultation and talk, at this stage. The Government has committed to spending nearly half a billion euro on flooding over the next five years,” he said.

“The priority actually needs to be managing floods through the winter, as opposed to generating electricity, and I think that is the priority of the ESB, to be fair.”

He said he attended a meeting in Athlone last night where people called for “a single authority” to manage the river, “so that we would get co-ordination” along the Shannon, which would also “include the management flows by ESB”.