Flood Risk Management
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-29
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Ruairí Ó Murchú (SF), Louth

I appreciate that the senior Minister cannot be here, but I do not think it is a good enough to say that Uisce Éireann has operational responsibility. We all accept that from a technical point of view. I have no problem with it, but there is an absolute need to have a review with regard to why this has happened. This has happened - it always happens - when we have heavy rain in a particular part of Dundalk. Talk to anyone from the local authority or to any of the engineers who are out doing great work and they will say that they are looking for over-pumping capacity for the Blackwater. That, at least, might mitigate some of this. Hopefully, it can be done over the weekend.
We need to look long term at some of the mitigation works that can be carried out. We need to see CFRAM work being done in relation to the Blackwater, but, first and foremost, it must be accepted that we do not have the necessary capacity in the wastewater treatment system in Dundalk, including in the estate where I live. Where I live is not the worst part. I spoke to a man earlier today who, as the water dissipated, is looking at sewage on his property. That is because it is a joint sewerage and storm-water system. Therein lies the problem. The water treatment plant cannot take it. The Coes Road pumping station is where the blockages occur. There is WuXi and a huge number of industrial operations and estates from where the water literally shoots down. It fills the pipes to absolute capacity. This causes a logjam in the system, which then cannot be pumped out. The water builds up and pools in estates such as ours as a result. It is not just water, however, because we are talking about a combined system. The problem gets even worse at high tide. People living in Cluan Enda and the Bay Estate now check for when high tide will occur.
We really need to see long-term fixes, with upgrades through CFRAM. In the short term, there needs to be a solution. There was heavy rain in other parts of the country that caused devastation. Some of the problems can maybe be mitigated but a lot of them cannot. We could definitely mitigate the issues we have in Dundalk, particularly those that impact the people who live in the Bay Estate and Cluan Enda. We really need a solution.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-29