Towns get €11.6m for flood relief
ALMOST €12m has been allocated for flood defence works in Graiguenamanagh and Inistioge.
Minister of State for the OPW Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran pledged the money at a meeting of Kilkenny County Council in June and followed through with his promise announcing that the projects are going ahead.
Graiguenamanagh Fianna Fail Councillor Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere expressed his delight at the recent announcement from Deputy Moran that Graiguenamanagh is to receive an investment of €9.1 million for a flood relief scheme. €1.5m will be spent on flood defence works in Inistioge.
Cllr Cleere said: ‘Graiguenamanagh has been left devastated with some significant flooding in recent years so this is absolutely fantastic news for the town.’
A total of 29m is being allocated towards flood defence works, mainly in south Kilkenny, with €12.7m being spent in Thomastown, which along with Inistioge and Graiguenamanagh, was the scene of major flooding in January 2016.
Kilkenny County Council will be leading the implementation of the project in collaboration with the OPW and will also be taking on two additional engineering resources to progress and deliver this schemes as soon as possible.
The elected members of Kilkenny County Council adopted the Flood Risk Management Plans published by the OPW in May 2018 for the Suir, Nore and Barrow rivers on June 21, 2018. In adopting the plans, the members sought further consultation and agreement with affected communities, public and other groups and organisations. Cllr Cleere said: ‘ The measures set out in the flood risk management plan for Graigue are not definitive and final; more detailed assessments are required at a local level and further public and stakeholder consultation will be undertaken. As such, there is further scope for the community’s views to influence the measures that are progressed to implementation.’