'A fantastic day for our community'

"Words fail me this afternoon" was one local resident's reaction to the turning on of an interim pumping solution by local Minister of State Kevin 'Boxer' Moran to help manage the flood risk at Lough Funshinagh in South Roscommon.

Pending the completion of a permanent scheme which the Minister of State hopes to be delivered within the next two years, the now operational interim pumping solution will alleviate the fears of residents living in proximity to the lough who have been impacted by the rising flood waters this past decade.

Work on a three kilometre pipeline from Lough Funshinagh to Lough Ree commenced in 2021. The pipeline was partially completed when work on it was stopped due to a successful High Court challenge brought by the Friends of the Irish Environment group.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent, Tom Carney, whose residence has been in continuous threat of the rising flood waters from the lough, noted his relief that a temporary solution was now in place to alleviate a crisis which has caused grave concern for the South Roscommon community for almost ten years. The temporary solution will remain in place pending the completion of a permanent scheme.

"This is truly a fantastic day for our community who have lived in fear of flooding for the last ten years. The last 15 months have been horrific, particularly April of last year when the flood waters reached their peak. I am a resilient person but I really was at a low ebb at that time. We found it very difficult to cope as there was no end in sight to what was impacting our daily lives. You could say the community was at a very low ebb," Mr Carney said.

Mr Carney said it is his hope that a permanent solution can now be found within the next two years.

"It is incomprehensible to think that a permanent solution will not now be found. We have received numerous reassurances from the respective bodies who have worked on this project and I am hopeful that there now will be a permanent end to our distress," Mr Carney said.

Mr Carney complimented the collaborative work of all those involved to ensure the temporary solution was put in place.

"For the first time in many years we can sleep soundly even when the rains fall and that in itself is a massive relief," Mr Carney concluded.

Cllr Laurence Fallon, who lives in the vicinity of Lough Funshinagh, noted that the residents could now "live in peace" with the installation of the temporary pumping solution.

"We can finally pump water into Lough Ree in a controlled manner and allow the residents live in peace. The lake will be controlled at a level below that which causes homes in the vicinity to be flooded and hopefully within two years we will have a permanent solution in place to this ongoing crisis," Cllr Fallon said.

The Councillor said the presence of both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste at Lough Funshinagh when flooding peaked in April 2024 added further weight to the issue and gave belief that a solution, albeit temporary, would be realised.

"It has been a very harrowing ten years for this community impacted by the decimating flood waters and I want to pay tribute to all those who have worked collaboratively to ensure that we now can look positively towards finding a permanent solution to an issue which has caused much hardship this past decade," Cllr Fallon stated.