Mulqueen calls for Dutch flood prevention expertise

DUTCH engineers should be recruited to produce long-term flood-protection solutions to deal with the disastrous flooding situation in Ennis, according to a local county councillor.

Councillor Tony Mulqueen estimates that he could be forced to live in alternative accommodation for three to six months before repair works are fully completed to his house in Cappahard.
Councillor Mulqueen had to come to terms with seeing his house surrounded by about four or five feet of water last Thursday.
Despite flood-protection measures and sandbagging, up to two feet of water got inside his house and caused substantial damage. In fact, he had to get an inflatable vessel to access his house when the flooding reached its worst in Cappahard.
He proposed that Dutch flood engineers should be recruited to deal with the major flooding issue in the county capital.
“Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam is nine metres below sea level, yet it is dry. Their expertise should be used to help us devise long-term solutions in Ennis. Most of Ennis is a few feet above sea level and we still have flooding problems,” he said.
Councillor Mulqueen also proposed that the tidal flood barrage at Clarecastle should be moved a few miles downstream to create a larger container for floodwaters.
He also criticised the level of development that has been permitted on flood plains in Ennis and its environs over the last two decades.
“I think planners should use local knowledge when it comes to determining whether or not a new housing scheme should be built on a flood plain. One of the problems is that the water is coming into the River Fergus faster and it doesn’t have anywhere to go.
“There was some bogland in the Kilmaley area, which acted like a sponge where there was flooding but now this has been planted with forestry.
“We have to create a larger holding area for the water because it has to spill out in different parts of the town as it has nowhere to go,” he concluded.