State to aid relocation of Galway flooding victims

The Government has caved in and agreed to provide funding towards the relocation of up to 25 families whose homes were ravaged by the big floods and which continue to be at major risk of future water damage.

Galway County Manager Martina Moloney announced details of the scheme this week to councillors who had been lobbying for a relocation scheme similar to one run by the Office of Public Works (OPW) following the 1995 floods across South Galway.

Galway County Council had written to the OPW requesting they seek a relocation scheme from the Department of Finance for a small number of houses where there was no feasible solution to the flooding problem found.

Council staff and officials from the OPW carried out joint inspections at these locations and informed the homeowners concerned that their properties could not be protected from flooding “at an economically feasible cost”.

However the OPW ruled out the possibility of a relocation scheme due to a lack of funding.

The Department of Social Protection has now agreed to provide “support” towards the relocation. However the exact nature of this support has yet to be clearly outlined.

See full story in this week's Connacht Tribune.