RELIEF is in sight at last for farmers and householders close to Lough Funshinagh in south-west Roscommon who have endured years of a recurring flooding nightmare.

The Lough Funshinagh Interim Flood Relief Scheme was officially ‘switched on’ last Friday by Minister of State with Responsibility for the OPW, Kevin Boxer Moran.

Over 1.5 miles of an overland pipe will carry the pumped water from the Lough Funshinagh turlough into the Cross River – planning consultations are now under way as regards a more permanent flood relief system.

Connacht IFA Chair, Brendan Golden, who attended last Friday’s official ‘switch on’, told the Farming Tribune that householders and farmers in this area had endured ‘a living nightmare’ as regards flooding problems for the last eight years or so.

“What these people have gone through with flooding problems is indescribable. They were facing a constant threat to their homes and farmyards with seemingly no solution being offered to them.

“What has happened here today is long overdue to families who have suffered a lot, and now the next step is to work out a way towards a permanent flood relief measure,” said Brendan Golden.

He added that over recent years, the people affected by the flooding had been under extraordinary pressure with, in cases, homes facing threats of evacuation.

“Thankfully, this interim relief solution should allow people in the area to get on with their lives and to be able to live comfortably in their own homes without this constant fear of being flooded. What happened last Friday, is at least, an important step in the right direction,” said Brendan Golden.

The wet Spring and early Summer of 2024, was a particularly difficult time for people living in the Carrick, Rahara and Curraghboy areas.

As well as Minister of State, Boxer Moran, last Friday’s launch was also attended by officials from the OPW [Office of Public Works], Roscommon County Council, local public representatives and IFA officers.

Roscommon County Council and the OPW are now involved in a consultative planning process aimed at delivering a permanent solution to the Lough Funshinagh flooding issue.

This is expected to involve a gravity-flow pipe system which will take any excess water at Lough Funshinagh to a river in that area which would feed into the nearby Lough Ree.

Efforts to relieve the catastrophic flooding in places like Rahara and Curraghboy since 2016 have been opposed by a group called Friends of the Irish Environment [FIE] who have been involved in a number of legal challenges concerning flood relief measures.

Last Friday’s Interim Flood Relief ‘switch-on’ launch has been welcomed by local and national public representatives.

Last January, then Taoiseach Simon Harris, welcomed the decision of An Bord Pleanála to approve Roscommon County Council’s application for a temporary pumping solution at Lough Funshinagh.

“This news [the planning application approval] is very welcome. I have met with a number of residents who have been affected by the flooding at Lough Funshinagh and saw first-hand the situation homeowners were dealing with,” Simon Harris said  at the time.

Pictured: The Lough Funshinagh catchment area.