Minister ‘refuses’ to meet Kilkenny councillors to discuss flooding

A minister has ‘essentially refused to come down and meet councillors’ about flooding in the Callan Thomastown municipal district.

Last September the council wrote to Minister Patrick O’Donovan, who has responsibility for the OPW and flood alleviation projects.

At the councillor’s March meeting they were informed that he had declined the invitation.

Meeting Administrator, Anne Marie Shortall, said a letter from Minister O’Donovan’s office set out that the area of concern to local councillors was not part of a drainage scheme being administered by the OPW.

The letter went on to suggest that the landowner of the area might be able to apply for support under a minor mitigation works scheme.

The minister was ‘more or less saying it was not under his remit and suggested another scheme,’ she summarised.

Area Engineer Declan Murphy said the council had already applied for mitigation measures, and the landowner in question was Kilkenny County Council.

He told councillors they would ‘stay going at it’ to try and get flood alleviation works in the town.

Referring to a previous OPW report, Mr Murphy said the silt mounds in the river were not found to be causing the flooding, which is why the matter does not come under the minister’s remit.

This was why the council had applied for pumps and water storage facilities, he added. They will have to address the silt as an aesthetic issue.

“Essentially the minister is refusing to come down and meet the municipal district councillors,” Cllr Deirdre Cullen said.
Cllr Joe Lyons pointed out Minister O’Donovan had come to Callan to see the King’s River.