Flood money announced to clean under bridge in Laois town

Government cash has been announced for a Laois town to prevent floods from the river.

Clonaslee at the foot of the Slieve Bloom mountains is to get €20,000 of works done to clear gravel from the base of the bridge over the River Clodiagh.

The cash was announced a part of a range of nationwide grants by Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Mr. Patrick O’Donovan, T.D.

Laois County Council had applied for the funding under the Office of Public Works’ Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme.

Under the scheme, the Office of Public Works (OPW) has approved funding of €20,700 for proposed works at Clonaslee Bridge, which will include the removal of gravel from under the bridge deck.

It also announces that €88,200 is approved for proposed works at "Clonnygowan", which will include the construction of an embankment around properties to prevent flood waters entering and to remove an existing low level foot bridge and replace with a precast concrete unit.

That grant was sought by and approved to Laois County Council, although Cloneygowan is just over the Offaly border near Portarlington. 

It is the fourth grant announcement for Laois under the scheme this year.

Laois County Council got €63,000 for removal of deadwood/debris and pruning of treescausing restrictions on approximately 6.5km of the River Nore in South Laois from Watercastle Bridge in the townsland of Abbeyleix Demesne. 

It received a grant of €54,000 to construct an embankment around properties to prevent flood waters entering properties at Moneymore.

€58,500 was received for the removal of deadwood/debris and pruning of trees causing restrictions on approximately 6.5km of the White horse River in Mountrath town.

The Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme was introduced by the Office of Public Works in 2009. Since then, 8 funding applications by Laois County Council have been supported under this scheme.

The purpose of the scheme is to provide funding to Local Authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative areas. The scheme generally applies where a solution can be readily identified and achieved in a short time frame.

Under the scheme, applications are considered for projects that are estimated to cost not more than €750,000 in each instance. Funding of up to 90% of the cost is available for approved projects. Applications are assessed by the OPW having regard to the specific economic, social and environmental criteria of the scheme, including a cost benefit ratio. 

Works that are normally the responsibility of the local authorities will generally not be considered for OPW funding. Where such works would also mitigate the risk of flooding to properties, partial funding may be considered by OPW.

The Local Authorities must be satisfied that the works will not have a significant impact on flood risk elsewhere.