The City Council say they were actively dealing with emergency situations across the city when residents at an estate in Glanmire requested help with the cleanup.
In a statement to RedFM News, the Council says it was actively dealing with urgent call-outs when residents at Copper Valley Vue requested skips.
The Council says residents were informed the day after the flood that the cost of skips could be claimed back through the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme and confirmed skips were provided to the estate by the Council the day after that.
The local authority also says it also provided over 250 sandbags as well as sand and bags for an extra 50 sandbags.
Local resident Wayne Knowles has been critical of the Council’s response in the wake of the floods and outlined to RedFM News one of the objectives of residents:
Cork City Council statement in full:
Storm Babet was a very significant event that occurred across the South Coast of Ireland. The footprint of this storm was significant as was the quantum of rain that fell as part of this event.
Across the City Council's administrative area the Local Authorities Operational Staff, Fire Services and Civil Defence Crews attended more than 50 locations which experienced flooding.
This was not a short event, with many areas being impacted by flooding for a number of days after the event.
The Fire Service rescued a number of people from cars and buildings while Local Authority Operational Staff and Civil Defence Crews were deployed to flooded locations to take whatever actions could be taken to protect life and property.
Cork City Council also sought and received assistance from the Defence Forces who were deployed to Glanmire to assist City Council response crews.
On Thursday evening Cork City Council were requested to provide skips to Residents in Copper Valley Vue. In response the City Council advised the residents that firstly the City Council does not own any skips and secondly that we were actively dealing with ongoing urgent emergency situations across the City. While Copper Valley Vue may have entered the clean-up phase of their event there were still ongoing emergency situations across the City that the Local Authority were still actively engaging with.
Residents were advised on Thursday evening that if they organised skips themselves, that the cost of same could be claimed back from the Government through the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme administered by the Department of Social Protection’s Community Welfare Service.
I can confirm that Cork City Council did provide skips to Copper Valley Vue on Friday.
Cork City Council also provided in excess of 250 filled sandbags as well as sand and bags for more than another 50 bags (in total more than 300 sand bags).
On Friday morning damaged areas were fenced off, damaged tree limbs removed and the streets swept/cleaned in Copper Valley Vue.
Cork City Council’s response to flooding is limited to emergency response. After the event, the repair of public infrastructure also falls under the remit of the Local Authority.
The Government’s Humanitarian Assistance Scheme provides financial support to people who have suffered damage to their home. It is designed to help them meet the cost of essential needs and repairs.
This scheme covers:
- Emergency income support payments
- Damage to your home and its essential contents, such as carpets, flooring, furniture, household appliances and bedding
- Structural damage
The scheme does not cover:
- Losses covered by an insurance policy
- Loss of items deemed to be not essential or luxury items
- Commercial and business losses
- Loss or damage to private rented accommodation or local authority accommodation
If any homeowner affected by the Storm needs to access supports they can contact the Community Welfare Service by phoning 0818 60 70 80 or for Cork City residents they can email [email protected] and a person will contact them back.
