Galway County Council has again been asked to tackle the issue of flooding from the main Galway to Clifden road – after recent heavy rains again highlighted the scale of this major problem.

Clifden Cllr Eileen Mannion told a recent meeting of Galway County Council that there were parts of the N69 effectively holding water – and this needed to be addressed.

She said that the current moderate temperatures were resulting in a lot of rainfall and over prolonged periods.

The Clifden area councillor said that it was imperative that this main road be open all the year round given the fact that it takes a lot of traffic on a daily basis.

“Flooding on the N59 can occur within a short period of time but generally the release period is very short once the weather abates,” she said.

“It has been the situation that flooding can occur within a short period of time and that is why we need flood relief schemes along this important route in Connemara,” added Cllr Mannion.

Several weeks back there were landslides, rivers bursting their banks, fallen trees and houses being flooded in the area.

Galway County Council outdoor staff were stretched to the limit as they tried to clear roads as some communities, particularly in Connemara, found themselves marooned due to fallen trees and ESB poles.

The clean-up operation was huge as the ESB were asked to check on some of their poles as many local councillors said that they were not steady and were not being looked after.

Head of Transport with Galway County Council Uinsinn Finn said that all resources available to them were dispatched once the storm had abated.

But he explained that the power outages in Connemara were due to a line being damaged in three different locations and that this took some time to rectify.

Cllr Mary Hoade (FF) said that it was essential that salt bins be provided to primary schools in the event of another cold snap.

However, she was told that the Council had budget for salt for essential areas and that not every school could be accommodated.

Cllr Hoade was informed that the priority would be on the main roads when it came to salting and that the local authority did not have a budget that would cover schools or local estates.

Pictured: Cllr. Eileen Mannion…good news.