Residents of a Portlaoise estate 'just terrified' of repeat flooding

Residents of a Laois housing estate are living in fear of heavy rain, because of past flooding from a stream that flows through their midst.

So says Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald who is again calling attention to the ongoing flood issues faced by property owners in The Grange housing estate in Portlaoise, at the rear of Portlaoise Prison Campus.

A stream that runs underneath the prison through The Grange has flooded in the past she said.

"It is in a bad way. Last year it got cleaned out and that certainly helped. There is one area, a row of houses at the back of the stream. They are seriously worried about future flooding. This is the one area of Portlaoise where it would be absolutely great if we got a scheme, a long term solution.

"It's just a headache, a torment for peole. When heavy rain comes, they are just terrified. Maybe it needs a physical barrier to stop it. It has been cleared three times but it's the layout of the stream. It needs a flood defence," Cllr Fitzgerald said.

She tabled a motion to the February 2025 meeting of Portlaoise Municipal district, asking the council to apply for funding.

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley seconded, saying she had similar motions in the past resulting in some work.

"Those residents are living with that on a daily basis," she said.

The Grange received €40,000 in funding in 2023 for works.

District chair Cllr Paddy Buggy said "there is a solution, dredge the rivers".

"Our rivers are not able to take water. If you dredge them, don't do them all in the one year, nature responds after a year," he suggested.

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Laois County Council senior engineer Adrian Barrett said that they will arrange a topographical survey of the land, and "will apply to the OPW for Minor Works funding to address the flooding issue at this location".