Critics of a proposed flood defence scheme for Cork have said that representatives from the Office of Public Works have refused to meet with them, despite a number of requests for meetings this week.
Save Cork City, a group campaigning against the €140m flood relief plan, say they have sent a list of questions to the OPW and are awaiting their reply.
The controversial proposal by the Office of Public Works will be the largest ever flood relief project undertaken by the State.
The Save Cork City group is urging the OPW to look at how countries like the Netherlands have moved away from the traditional approaches, saying the plan for Cork doesn’t take into account climate change, and won’t protect against rising sea levels.
A Save Cork City spokesperson said: “We are disappointed not to have been given this opportunity to meet the OPW. They have told us that there is too much pressure on their resources to meet us again.
“A central flaw of the OPW plan is that it is woefully outdated. Engineering Professor Philip O’Kane, an expert in hydrology, says that it is a full ’50 years behind the times’.
“Despite what the OPW are saying, the current plan is most definitely not climate change proofed. When sea levels do rise, the OPW proposes to add more to the walls it wants to build now and make them even higher. We are deeply concerned about how this would impact on the city and whether it is even possible to implement relating to Cork’s many bridges. It just isn’t thought through.”
The group went on to say that local people are “often distressed, angry or deeply concerned” when they hear about the OPW plans.
- The Save Cork City group said:
They also said that local businesses are “deeply concerned” about the impact of the “very lengthy construction period”.
The group said: “Small independent businesses are extremely worried that the OPW plan will bankrupt them. The OPW envisages turning the city centre into a building site for many years.
“Most people are saying to us that there has to be a better way. Save Cork City says that there is. The real alternatives have barely been considered or investigated up to now.
“Our alternative plans include a tidal barrier which we believe would cost far less than the figures being quoted by OPW. A barrier would deal with rising sea levels now, rather than waiting and having to undertake construction in the not too distant future anyway.”
The Save Cork City group will be meeting with local residents and business people over the coming weeks to talk about their plans.
