Residents have been forced to spend up to €30,000 out of their own pockets to protect their homes from flooding along the Ballylickey River, a meeting of the Western Division heard.

It was revealed by Cllr John Collins (Ind Ire), who called on Cork County Council to carry out dredging works on the river, saying that “prevention is better than a cure”.

Cllr Danny Collins (Ind Ire) also  raised the issue and added that “people are living in fear”.

He asked how works were approved in Bandon years ago but couldn’t be approved in Ballylickey. He said the fine weather during the summer would have been the perfect time to start the works.

In response  county engineer, Brendan Meagher, said that the council was only allowed dredge rivers to the water level, so while it may have been dry the works wouldn’t have had the desired effect on flooding.

Cllr John Michael Foley (FG) said it is a “major problem” that clearance isn’t allowed below the water line. He added that he has “gone above to a national level” with this issue and said it was like hitting a “brick wall”.

Cllr Daniel Sexton (Ind Ire) agreed, saying there was too much “red tape”. Cllr John Collins recalled that prior to the council’s dredging of Bandon river a local man had got the job started himself.

He said maybe that had kickstarted the works and wondered if it had almost got to that stage in Ballylickey. Mr Meagher reiterated that the council could only clear to water level, and said: “Rules are in place and we try our best to work with them.”

However, it was revealed that the council were investigating dredging works in Kinsale. Mr Meagher said the council have been actively looking at the silting issues in the harbour in recent weeks and hope to have a more substantial update in the next four to six weeks.

He visited Kinsale and met with a member of the Kinsale Yacht Club to discuss the issues they faced and the potential next steps. The update followed a query from Cllr Ann Bambury (SD), who said the issue was making it difficult for some people to access the water.

In her view the works need to be carried out to provide “inclusive access to the water for everybody.” Cllr Alan Coleman (Ind) said that the dredging is “vital for Kinsale to be the premier location that it is.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.