No action taken since 'horrendous' flooding near Laois National Ploughing site two years ago

No action has been taken to prevent further “horrendous” flooding near the National Ploughing Championship site in Ratheniska, a council meeting was told. 

Independent Cllr Aidan Mullins asked in a motion:  “That Laois County Council carry out the necessary roadworks to prevent the serious flooding problems along Loughteague Road in Ratheniska.”

Cllr Mullins said councillors had been called to a meeting by residents following serious flooding in the area two years ago. He said “the road was like a river” during the flooding event. 

He said there was suggestion at the time that the Ploughing Championships may have been a contributing factor in the flooding. “Nothing has been done despite the meeting,” said Cllr Mullins. 

Senior Executive Engineer Tom Drennan said he hadn’t dealt with the issue before and he would look at the problem with fresh eyes. 

“Laois County Council will arrange a site inspection at this location with a view to identifying any possible drainage issues on the roadway and within private lands while it will seek to monitor and maintain the existing roadside open drains at Loughteague to alleviate against any potential surface water issues,” he stated. 

Cllr Mullins said one very obvious contributing factor was a 12 inch drainage pipe which had been connected directly into a small five or six inch pipe. 

“Steps should be taken to ensure that doesn’t happen again,” said Cllr Mullins. The flooding at the location was so bad on the road “you could take a canoe down it”.

Independent Cllrs Aisling Moran and Ben Brennan both said the flood waters were threatening houses in the area. 

Fianna Fail Cllr Paschal McEvoy described the flooding as “horrendous” and said only for the action of farmers and the local community it would have been a lot worse. He said the flooding was frightening. He thought the council were going to apply for funding under a scheme to alleviate the flooding. 

Cllr Moran agreed and said she also thought they were going to ask the organisers of the National Ploughing Championships to contribute towards whatever works needed to be carried out. 

READ ALSO: €200,000 needed to alleviate flooding near National Ploughing site

The issue was discussed during the May meeting of Portarlington Graiguecullen Municipal District.