By Dan Walsh
There is a Public Consultation Day on Wednesday, November 26th, 3pm to 8pm at Riverside Park Hotel, Enniscorthy, where Wexford County Council with the support of the Office of Public Works (OPW) is preparing the development of a Flood Relief Scheme for Enniscorthy.
There is so much misinformation in the public domain in recent times that it is important that the people of Enniscorthy come along and have their say!
The Flood Relief Scheme is important, but it is neither a political mouthpiece nor an opportunity to cash in on available funding, but an outcome that will make Enniscorthy a better town to pass through or visit, and, in fairness traffic management between both bridges at the moment runs smoothly and without delay on a daily basis!
Future plans are as follows; Phase 1 The removal of the Seamus Rafter Bridge and the provision of a new pedestrian bridge in its place? Back to the old days of one stone bridge carrying all the traffic and it will have to be reversed into two-way traffic again! The works phase will be chaotic for town traffic!
My personal suggestion, and readers can comment freely on my view, is that the Seamus Rafter Bridge remains where it is, make it a raised single span from east to west, and the hilly advantage on either side be used to best advantage. My suggestion has nothing to do with funding but maintaining the the town centre character in line with its traditional and historic past because that’s the future of market towns in rural Ireland.
READ MORE… Why was the Enniscorthy Flood Relief Scheme refused? Here is the full report first published on WexfordLocal.com on March 4th 2022. It is reported in full… no edits!
Enniscorthy Flood Relief scheme is refused
By Dan Walsh
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath T.D, today (Friday), based on the advice of environmental consultants and officials, has decided to refuse the River Slaney (Enniscorthy) Flood Defence Scheme, submitted by the Office of Public Works (OPW).
This decision is based on a detailed assessment of the environmental impact of the proposed scheme which concluded that the scheme would have considerable adverse impact on the environment.
This decision was taken based on an extensive procedure which involved the engagement of environmental consultants, public consultation and engagement with other relevant bodies including the OPW, the Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage/National Parks and Wildlife Services.
The OPW have been informed of the Minister’s decision to refuse the scheme. The OPW will now have to assess options available to mitigate the environmental issues identified in this process.
Speaking on the decision, Minister McGrath said; “This Government is committed to developing policy responses to mitigate the effects of climate change and to protect the health and safety of residents and the local economy. Very significant funds of €1.3bn have been set aside under the National Development Plan to achieve this aim.
“It is, however, incumbent upon me, as the authority charged with confirming these schemes, to ensure that the environmental impact is acceptable under law. Flood relief schemes are very complex with multi-layered considerations arising from primary legislation, regulations, EU Directives and increasing case law both domestically from the High Court and Supreme Court and internationally from the European Court of Justice in this area.
“I can assure you that this is not a decision which was taken lightly. There has, in recent years, been a very significant increase in Judicial Reviews and other legal challenges to a range of infrastructure development projects arising from increased cross-cutting environmental legislation.
“I am also acutely aware of the time-frames involved in bringing these schemes about. It is in everyone’s interests that this decision is made now, so that the OPW can proceed to consider the matters at hand and assess options available to mitigate the environmental issues identified in this process,” concluded Minister McGrath.
The River Slaney (Enniscorthy) Flood Defence Scheme, was submitted by the Office of Public Works in April 2020.
A public consultation was held in 2020. Additional information was sought from OPW towards the end of 2020 and this was submitted in April 2021.
Following discussions with the consultants and with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, it was deemed that the environmental impact of the scheme was such that the scheme should be refused under section 7E(b) of the Arterial Drainage Act.
WexfordLocal.com 