Blocked drains at Cairns Drive

Several houses in Cairns Drive are “badly affected” by flooding due to blocked drains on Cairns Drive.

That’s according to Cllr Tom MacSharry who urged the Council to unblock the drains there to avoid serious flooding at the bottom part of the estate. “If there’s heavy rain at all, two or three houses are badly affected and the area mostly consists of elderly residents,” he told the meeting.

He was told by Acting Senior Executive Engineer Declan Noone that the drains in Cairns Drive would be unblocked in “the coming weeks” under a maintenance programme.

Noone told members that the Council would be taking a “proactive” stance on drain maintenance from now on and were planning to start a new maintenance programme in January. He added that the costs would be “significant.”

“I will have no problem with that,” replied Cllr MacSharry. “The rain is getting significant.

It’s a big issue especially in an area with elderly residents who would walk instead of drive,” he said. Cllr Rosaleen O’Grady welcomed the idea of an ongoing maintenance plan in the urban area.

Cllr Declan Bree noted that when he was first elected as a public representative the drains in Sligo town were done “every two weeks” and members never had to table a motion on unblocking drains.

“I would have thought that something as simple as cleaning drains would be done without councillors having to put down motions,” he said, adding that he thought some drains on High Street hadn’t been cleared in six months.

Council Chief Executive Ciarán Hayes said the local authority had gone through some “major changes” in recent times. “We had rent collectors. We had a Borough Council. But I take your point,” he replied. “You’re making my case for me,” concluded Cllr Bree.