Flood relief works at Lough Funshinagh in Co. Roscommon will recommence, the county council there has announced.
The original relief works – to construct an overflow pipe to divert the water into the River Shannon – were halted in August after an environmental lobby group successfully objected to the plans in the High Court.
Roscommon County Council says it has since retained the services of Malachy Walsh and Partners Engineering and Environmental Consultants to provide advice about what was required.
Following analysis, the local authority was advised on how it could lawfully carry out an “emergency solution” without needing approval from An Bord Pleanála or any other third party.
“With the benefit of that advice and what has been learned from the High Court challenge, the council will carry out interim emergency flood relief works that are necessary, appropriate and lawful to protect persons, property and the environment,” the council said in a statement yesterday (Thursday, October 14).
The statement added: “The council welcomes the attention given by all interested person to this complex humanitarian issue and is committed to progressing the matter in a transparent way that will withstand robust scrutiny.”
Lough Funshinagh is currently 46cm higher than it was at the same time last year.
Welcoming the recommencing of flood relief works, chairperson of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) in Roscommon, Jim O’Connor, said: “It was a huge relief when these works were announced in May and there was great upset among residents and farmers when it was delayed in August.
“These are the people whose homes and livelihoods are at risk without this work,” O’Connor highlighted.
“We are pleased that this work will now resume and urge the council to ensure every effort is made to complete it as soon as possible,” he added.
O’Connor stated that flood levels at Lough Funshinagh had “surpassed those in living memory” in the past 12 months, with many of the 44 farms with land adjacent to the lough – as well as farm payments on that land – being threatened by the rising waters.