Conway questions source of flooding funds

A North Clare councillor has called on the Government to clarify exactly how essential repairs to infrastructure damaged by recent flooding are going to be funded.
“I am calling for clarity in relation to exactly what is going to happen. Whatever has been damaged by the flooding needs to be repaired as a matter of urgency and needs to be funded by central Government and not come from council funds and hopefully early in the New Year that clarity will be brought to this issue,” Fine Gael councillor, Martin Conway told The Clare Champion.
Asked whether he thought Clare County Council had the money to repair the damaged roads in North Clare and across the county, Councillor Conway said, “The simple answer is ‘no’. This response has to be taken on by central Government.”
According to Councillor Conway, the responsibility for repairing the roads damaged by flooding lies with the Government and not with the local authority.
“There was a significant amount of damage done as a result of the flooding in certain parts of North Clare, in particular in the Corofin area and indeed some families had to be evacuated in the Tubber and Carron areas.
Councillor Conway pointed out that it was regrettable that a number of roads are still closed as a result of the flooding.
“It is fair to say that resources had to be piled into Ennis because that is where the big threat was at the time. The North Clare council staff did an excellent job but now need to be supported with resources, so that all roads are opened as a matter of urgency but equally important is that roads that were damaged as a result of the flooding are repaired and that this does not affect the roads programme for 2010.
“The resources that are put into fixing the roads should come from a special fund and not from the roads programme, which has already been impacted by decreased local government funding,” Councillor Conway concluded.
North Clare Fianna Fáil councillor, Michael Kelly said he felt it was vital for Clare County Council to “recognise the serious situation that existed in the North Clare area during the recent flooding crisis”.
Councillor Kelly warned that this situation could happen again in the coming year and said, “It is imperative that people are not deprived of access to their place of work or business. It is also vitally important that they are not forced to travel on roads that are unable to accommodate the volume of traffic experienced during road closures recently. Those small roads were the only lifeline people had and now need extensive upgrading, such as widening, installing passing bays and hedge-cutting. The people on those roads suffered major inconveniences to facilitate the increased traffic and we as a council have a duty of care to ensure as far as possible that those inconveniences do not happen again.
“While the recent heavy rains flooded many areas, we need to look at the reason and try to prepare in every way possible for a repetition of homes being flooded. I believe that proper drainage can be a major benefit in this respect. It is now a time to prioritise our resources and finances.
“Extra money will have to be spent in North Clare and areas hit by the flooding crisis should be our main focus and if some other projects have to be temporarily shelved, so be it,” Councillor Kelly concluded.