Stoppage of Lough Funshinagh flood works "a sad day for Ireland" - TD
It appears that work on a flood relief pipeline from Lough Funshinagh in South Roscommon has been halted indefinitely following a High Court hearing in relation to the matter earlier today (Wednesday).
A High Court injunction was obtained by the Friends of the Irish Environment group in order to stop work on a 2.9km overflow pipe which was being constructed as a flood relief measure from Lough Funshinagh to the Shannon at Lough Ree.
In a statement this evening, Roscommon-Galway TD Michael Fitzmaurice said it was "a sad day for Ireland" that the work on the project must now cease indefinitely.
Another TD in the constituency, Denis Naughten said he had written to Ministers Patrick O'Donovan and Darragh O'Brien to seek a meeting to explore all possible options in light of the High Court injunction.
"The current situation could leave the community in a position where they could be forced to relocate from their homes due to the annually increasing threat of flooding, which in itself is doing serious environmental damage to the turlough, its flora and fauna," said Deputy Naughten.
Deputy Fitzmaurice said it was "extremely disappointing" that these "imperative works at Lough Funshinagh to protect peoples' homes and livelihoods" had been halted.
“The reality of this situation is that Michael D. Higgins signed the Habitats Directive. I, and many others that were affected by it early on in communities where designations occurred, warned of the consequences for Ireland.
"Today's development is a damning indictment of the Habitats Directive. One would now have to question the foresight of our current President when he signed in this directive in his previous role as a minister – he obviously didn't consider the wide-ranging impact it would have.
“The consequences of what this is doing in Ireland is unbelievable," said Deputy Fitzmaurice.
"If the project at Lough Funshinagh has to now go jump through hoop after hoop with all of the red tape and environmental assessments, the project won’t be completed for three years.
"How many more homes will be flooded in the meantime?" he asked.