AN emergency meeting takes place tomorrow at lunchtime following a second inciddent of flooding in as many days near Glenswilly Nl.
Schoolchildren had to be carried on the backs of their parents to get into class on Tuesday morning, while residents in the area became trapped in their homes when a stretch of the R250 road was under a deluge of water following heavy overnight rain.
It was the second case of heavy flooding in four days, and was the third such incident in a month.
Glenswilly National School remained open and the road was passable with care.
A recent meeting of Letterkenny-Milford MD heard there was “no money in the pot” to address the issue in Glenswilly.
But, calling for the emergency meeting, Mayor of Letterkenny-Milford MD, Cllr Donal ‘Mandy’ Kelly, who laid down sandbags following the flooding, said it was unacceptable that money could not be found for such an important issue.
“I don’t accept that there is no money in the pot to address this issue, not when it comes to something as serious as this. This is a matter of urgency.
“I witnessed schoolchildren having to be carried on the backs of their parents just to get into school. That is unacceptable. Residents were trapped in their homes and could not get out. That is terrifying and it should not be happening. I dread to think what we would be talking about if this situation got any more severe than it did.
“There are 260 pupils at Glenswilly National School. The school is 50 yards from where the flooding occurred. What would have happened if the school was forced to close – that would have meant parents scrambling to get childcare and children missing out on a days’ education.”
Cllr Kelly said frustration runs deeper than in just the locale.
“There is upset right across the whole community. People use that road coming in from Dungloe, Ardara and Glenties. It’s a busy stretch of road and road-users should feel safe at all times.”
Cllr Kelly said he was told it would cost in the region of €120,000 to lay new pipes to address the issue.
“I don’t know where that figure was drawn from. It seems very unrealistic to me.”
Tomorrow’s private meeting will be attended by senior roads engineers, roads supervisors, council officials and councillors.
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