Funds allocated to curb Flannan’s flooding

CLARE County Council expects to appoint a consultant by the end of the month to design a flood defence scheme for the St Flannan’s College area of Ennis.

The Department of Finance has made funding available for the project and the local authority, currently assessing tenders, expects to complete the construction work next year.
The proposed solution to the flooding effectively involves the construction of an overflow weir and over 1,000 linear metres of culvert to bypass an existing swallow hole located to the rear of the college.
Clare Fine Gael TD, Joe Carey, who received confirmation of the work schedule in response to a Dáil question, pointed out that last years St Flannan’s and the area surrounding the college suffered from the damaging effects of flooding “to a scale not witnessed in living memory”.
“Unprecedented damage was done to property and houses, with access to the area closed off and disrupted for days. The image of floodwaters spilling over the perimeter walls of St Flannan’s College will live long in the memory. Last year highlighted the need for immediate flood relief works in this area.
“I hope that these works will now ensure that a repeat of the scenes we saw last year can be avoided and I look forward to Clare County Council advancing these works to construction phase as soon as possible,” Deputy Carey commented.