Flood-relief works at Lough Funshinagh in Co. Roscommon have been suspended indefinitely.
A High Court action taken by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) earlier this month against Roscommon County Council (the Council) set in motion a series of events that concluded today when the matter came back before the High Court.
It is understood that both parties – FIE and the Council – had resolved the matter in advance of today’s court proceedings.
When contacted for a comment this evening, the Council said it would be issuing a statement in the morning (Thursday, August 26).
Today’s development means that works at the centre of this action will now cease.
These works include the construction and laying of a 2.9km pipe that would see water from Lough Funshinagh, a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), pumped into the larger Lough Ree.
Serious flooding in the area in recent years that has impacted homes and more than 150ac of farmland is the main reason for the Council’s flood-relief efforts.
The project commenced in June 2021 and was expected to be completed in four months, by October 2021.
Lough Funshinagh – urgent meeting
Responding to today’s development, independent TD, Denis Naughten, said he has written to Ministers Patrick O’Donovan and Darragh O’Brien seeking an urgent meeting to explore all possible options now available.
“The current situation could leave the community in a position where they could be forced to relocate from their homes due to the annually increasing threat of flooding, which in itself is doing serious environmental damage to the turlough, its flora and fauna,” said Denis Naughten.
He said this creates a “potentially serious precedent” which could have far-reaching implications for climate mitigation measures across the country.
A sad day
Independent TD, Micheal Fitzmaurice, described today’s development “as a sad day for Ireland”.
“It is extremely disappointing that the imperative works at Lough Funshinagh to protect peoples’ homes and livelihoods have now been halted; without even the opportunity for the case to be heard.”
He said that the Habitats Directive has much to answer for, adding that today’s development was a “damning indictment” of it.
“Not alone in the impact it could have on the remedial works referred to already, but in the construction of homes or roads, in forestry, in milling peat, in dealing with flooding or turloughs, in developing infrastructure such as ports or railways – which affects people from all walks of life around this country,” he said.
“If the project at Lough Funshinagh has to now go jump through hoop after hoop with all of the red tape and environmental assessments, the project won’t be completed for three years. How many more homes will be flooded in the meantime?” he added.
Roscommon County Council said previously that it had “always strived to nurture and protect Lough Funshinagh and the SAC and it has ensured that environmental monitoring is a key element of the project”.
“The majority of the work is outside of the SAC and no work was done in the SAC so far,” it said recently in a statement.
But environmental group, FIE maintained that ecologists had concerns over the works and that the Council had not furnished necessary documentation related to them.