Timely flood relief schemes vital, Cork chamber warns

Flood relief schemes must be delivered on schedule to prevent the sort of devastation and disruption to business and trade witnessed in Cork and other parts of the country over the past few weeks, Cork Chamber has urged.

According to Cork Chamber chief executive, Conor Healy, the Government must work with renewed focus to prevent any repeat of the flooding which followed Storm Frank and caused huge disruption to businesses in many Cork towns.

“It is unacceptable to see such devastation around the county, and in particular in Bandon and Midleton. It goes without saying that renewed and sustained focus at Government level needs to be directed at ensuring schemes are delivered on schedule,” he said.

Important routes

Mr Healy said the Christmas period saw road closures throughout Co Cork, with a number of important access and commuting routes in the region, including the N25 Cork-Waterford Road between Castlemartyr and Killeagh, remaining shut.

“Such road closures and the necessity to divert all traffic in affected locations onto secondary or tertiary routes has consequent impacts from a business trade perspective as well as potentially from a road safety perspective,” he said.

Mr Healy's comments came as Cork County Council confirmed it is continuing to pump water from a section of the N25 between Castlemartyr and Killeagh, which has been closed since December 30th when Storm Frank hit east Cork.

“A further 20mm of rain fell overnight (Wednesday night/Thursday morning) and Cork County Council continue pumping to lower the groundwater table which is flooding the N25. The road will remain closed until further notice,” said the council in a statement.

Daily reassessments

"The situation is being reassessed daily by Cork County Council and An Garda Síochána. We continue to appeal to motorists to obey the directional signs for the alternative routes and thank the public for their patience while work continues," it added.

Meanwhile, the R666 Fermoy to Ballyduff road, which closed between Geaney’s Cross and Stable Cross following a landslide there last week, is due to re-open at noon tomorrow (January 8th), Cork County Council confirmed.