An increase in funding for the OPW Minor Works Scheme might go some way to protecting Rathcormac from the flooding the village is prone to but won't solve the problem, a local councillor has said.
The Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), Kevin 'Boxer' Moran, has announced that the upper financial threshold for an approved project under the flood mitigation scheme is being raised from €750,000 to €2 million.
"Within the minor works scope of up to €2 million, we could get a fairly comprehensive scheme done with that. Minor works won't prevent the problem but it might mitigate against it," Cllr William O'Leary told The Corkman.
Around a dozen properties in Rathcormac were flooded during Storm Babet in October 2023 when a stream and a river overflowed their banks. The village has long suffered from flooding and a major scheme put forward by the OPW in 2018 proposed diverting flood flows from the stream via a culvert to the river.
At that time the projected cost was €1.15 million. Cllr O'Leary believes the scheme would now probably cost €3 or €4 million.
Minister Moran visited flood-affected parts of East and North Cork last week and promised to push relief works forward. Cllr O'Leary welcomed the minister's meeting with residents but said nothing concrete was announced for Rathcormac.
"I can't say I came out of it overly happy because there was no commitment to the overall flood relief scheme. We got no major commitment that it's going to progress quickly. We still wait with bated breath for the overall scheme to happen," the independent councillor said.
Locals have also voiced concerns with the OPW's plan for the major scheme. "We don't think that's going to work, to be honest," Cllr O'Leary said, adding that locals have proposed an alternative that would be cheaper and more effective and which wouldn't cause problems for residential areas downstream.
Last month Cork County Council submitted a minor works application to the OPW for stream and river clearance works and culvert repairs in Rathcormac. Cllr O'Leary said he is hopeful that a decision on that application will be made quickly.
"We are expecting culvert repairs and clearance works within the next few weeks, that would help, but it won't stop it. Even with the minor works, they probably won't be completed by the winter. People are very much worried about what's coming ahead when things get more intense."