...and €9.2m to shore up town’s flood defences
WEXFORD County Council has been given a whopping €9.2m in funding to carry out flood defence work in Wexford town.
The funding was announced by Minister of State for the Office of Public Works and Flood Relief, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, as part of the Government’s Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) programme.
Minister Paul Kehoe welcomed the money for Wexford town and stressed that it’s additional funding and will not impact on the money already ring-fenced for Enniscorthy and New Ross. Wexford County Council’s Communications Officer, David Minogue, said the money will be used predominantly in the area between the Boat Club and Wexford bridge.
‘These are areas that have been subjected to flooding in the past and this money will hopefully ensure there is no repeat of that in the future,’ he said.
Mr Minogue also expressed hope that the work will go to design and implementation stage ‘as soon as possible’.
WEXFORD TOWN is to get €9.25m in funding for flood defence work under the Government’s Flood Risk Management scheme.
The announcement was made last week by the Minister of State for the Office of Public Works and Flood Relief, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran TD.
An overall allocation of €257m is to be provided nationwide for 50 new flood relief schemes to enable them to proceed to design and construction.
Speaking to this newspaper about the allocation Minister Paul Kehoe said it’s additional funding for Wexford town and will have no impact on the money already ring-fenced for Enniscorthy and New Ross for their respective flood defence work schemes.
‘This is completely separate funding and is specifically for Wexford town,’ he said.
He confirmed that the €40m allocation for Enniscorthy was unchanged as a result of the new announcement.
‘This new funding is completely additional to Enniscorthy and New Ross and will be used to reinforce the wall to prevent future flooding on the quay,’ he said.
He said that when Minister Moran visited Enniscorthy a few weeks ago the issue of flooding in Wexford town was discussed.
It’s expected that some of the initial work on the quayfront will be largely invisible to the public as it will involve pumping measures.
‘The money will used to design and construct flood defence measures at key points along the quayfront,’ said Minister Kehoe.
While there are some measures already in place the quayside has been subjected to severe flooding in the past - most notably in 2004 when large sections of it and adjacent streets were under water.
The new grant is part of the South East section of the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) initiative and comes under an overall 10-year investment programme worth €1bn.
As part of CFRAM 300 communities were identified around the country, including 90 coastal areas, as being the regions most likely to be affected by future flooding.
Wexford County Council’s Communications Officer, David Minogue, said the majority of the money will be used on the section between the Boat Club and Wexford Bridge.
‘That’s an area that has in the past suffered flooding and it’s important that we strengthen the quayside [defences] in that area,’ he said.
He added the local authority is delighted that the funding has been allocated and that it’s hoped the project will now be able to proceed to the design and implementation stage as soon as possible.