‘Major drainage work’ is required on the main rivers in Laois to prevent further flooding, according to Cllr Tom Mulhall.
“It is the same story all the time about flooding in Laois. We will always have this problem and it will get worse until proper action is taken,” he said.
“Athy used to flood but I don’t see any problems there, now,” he said.
It is necessary to carry out drainage works on the River Barrow in particular, he said. “You need to clear the silt and you need to clear the trees,” he said.
“There was some maintenance on the rivers last year, but nowhere near enough,” he said.
“There is now a great need to carry out major drainage work on our rivers. These works should be carried out by co-operating with the Inland Fisheries and National Parks,” he said.
He said the during July, August and September would be the appropriate time to carry out maintenance.
Solve
“If proper drainage was carried out every year, it would solve a lot of flooding problems in houses and towns,” he said.
Cllr Mary Sweeney agreed that trees “are blocking and choking the rivers”.
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