Safety concerns raised as stream erodes roadway
Locals fear that a roadway in the Knockanevin area will be completely washed away if urgent action is not taken to prevent water erosion.
Eamonn McCarthy said that the location at Burke’s Cross has suffered substantial damage from water which is flowing out of a non effective drain and on to the road surface.
Fears are mounting over the condition of the road and he said that people believe it to be a serious safety risk.
“The road is crumbling away, the water is going down the road which is on a steep hill. It is treacherous,” Eamonn said.
“There’s an agricultural contractor here who cannot go up the road due to the amount of debris on the surface, the verges have also been completely taken away by the water that is cascading down the surface.
“Action needs to be taken urgently to prevent this from getting worse - we are close to seeing a complete erosion of the surface,” he said.
A video seen by TheAvondhu, shows a steady, fast flowing stream, pouring down the hill on both sides, with large amounts of debris, including soil and clumps of road surface, strewn across the roadway.
‘A SERIOUS DANGER’
Local people are so concerned that they have contacted the Council and have begged them to assist. It is understood that Council officials had anticipated placing a drainage pipe to alleviate the problem.
“I have lived in the area all my life and there has never been a problem here like this before in my lifetime,” Eamonn added.
“The stream has come out straight onto the road. The potential is there for a serious accident and not alone with the water, but there would be a significant risk with black ice from the amount of water.
“We just need the
Council to repair it and fix the problem,” Eamonn added.
Cllr Deirdre O’Brien has visited the site and she said that work will be carried out by Cork County Council to solve the problem.
“I was out there to the road and it’s a seri
ous danger to the public. The council were to go and do work there, to put a pipe across the road to help with the flow of water, but unfortunately the weather did not allow this to be completed.
“There was an agricultural contractor try
ing to bring machinery up there but his wheels were spinning because of all the rocks on the road - it is very serious,” she said and went on to appeal to those using lands across the region, to monitor any drainage systems to ensure that problems like this will
not happen.
“This time of year roads are suffering heavy damage from water and the surfaces have been eroded. There is no way of getting the wet mixing or surface dressing done at the moment, so we need to be extra cautious,” she said.
The initial stages of the vaccine roll out to the over 85s age cohort in the Mitchelstown area has been a success, Livinghealth Clinic has revealed.
Clinic spokesperson Julie Beamish, said that their plan to inoculate 224 octogenarians in two days worked perfectly and they are looking forward to the next batch of vaccinations to administer.
“We had 96 booked in on the first day last Thursday and we had 100% attendance of those people. In total we did 224 people with five doctors working on it. There was a great air around the place and the people were a pleasure to deal with,” she said.
“Our next doses and the next cohort is predicated on the delivery of the vaccine. There are a few people who remain on the list for here and they were too unwell to receive it, but we will keep going back to them”.
Julie explained that the vaccines being issued to the elderly is the Pfizer or Moderna inoculations and that the doses given last week were the Pfizer batch.
The clinic is now issuing their invitations for the next cohort of the elderly in the community.
REVISED STRATEGY
The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD announced an update on Tuesday to Ireland’s Covid-19 Vaccine Allocation Strategy.
The Government approved the Provisional Vaccine Allocation Strategy on December 8 last year. It was noted at the time that the strategy would be kept under review and amended as a result of changes to existing evidence and/or the epidemiological situation.
“Our Covid-19 Vaccination Programme has always been built on fairness and to ensure that those with the highest risk of severe disease and death were prioritised for vaccines when supplies were limited. This is why the focus has been on those living in nursing homes and our older people in the community,” Minister Donnelly said.
“The National Immunisation Advisory Council (NIAC), in conjunction with my Department, have recommended revising the Vaccine Allocation Strategy. The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) endorsed the recommendations and today they have been approved by Government.
“The primary aim of Ireland’s Covid-19 Vaccine
Allocation Strategy remains the same. We are continuing to vaccinate those who are most likely to suffer severe disease and sadly, death, as a result of contracting Covid-19. The changes we are making are based on the latest clinical and medical advice that those we are moving up the list would suffer the worst outcomes if they were to get the disease,” he added.
The health minister said that national and international evidence has become available which has enabled a more detailed analysis of underlying conditions that may increase the risk of developing severe disease or death.
NIAC has now been able to more comprehensively identify those medical conditions and to distinguish between those which place a person at very high or high risk of severe disease if they contract the virus.
CHANGES
The updated plan for vaccinations this week outlines the changes in cohorts which will apply, according to age and medical needs. Those aged 16-69 with a medical condition that puts them at very-high risk of severe disease and death will now be Cohort 4 and be vaccinated directly after those aged 70 and living in the community.
Cohort 5 will consist of those aged between 65 and 69 whose underlying condition puts them at a high risk of severe disease and death.
Cohort 6 will comprise those aged 65-69. They will be vaccinated alongside healthcare workers who are not in a patient facing role. Key workers essential to the vaccine programme will also be included in this cohort.
Cohort 7 will consist of those aged 16-64 who have an underlying condition that puts them at high risk of severe disease and death.
Medical conditions and the magnitude of the risk they pose will continue to be monitored and periodically reviewed.