Flooding taskforce yet to meet

Rodney Edwards • Published 10 Dec 2009 09:00 0 Comments

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The special task force set up by the Executive in the wake of the unprecedented flooding in Fermanagh last month have yet to meet, it has emerged.

In fact, little is known about the cross-departmental group other than it's to be headed by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and will investigate the factors which contributed to the flooding and consider future measures should it happen again.

When asked to explain further, a Stormont spokeswoman said she didn't know who else was on the group or exactly what would be discussed and confirmed that the group hasn't even met yet.

Further confusion mounted at a meeting of Fermanagh District Council on Monday night with Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott commenting that he "didn't know much about it" but hoped the Council were going to be involved. Other councillors were unsure if the Council had an input at all.

Fermanagh District Council Chief Executive Rodney Connor responded, saying; "We have insisted that this Council is represented on this task force - which will look into all aspects of the flooding,"

Speaking afterwards, Mr. Connor was keen to push how important the task force was going to be in Fermanagh but wouldn't comment on its set-up further.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development wouldn't comment either and said the task force was an Executive decision.

As expected, the floods were a topic of much debate at the monthly Council meeting this week.

Tom Elliott spoke of the "huge difficulties" widely reported throughout Fermanagh during the floods and called for immediate attention. "It's vital to ensure that this doesn't happen again. We need action and something done," he said.

Independent Councillor Bernice Swift agreed with Mr. Elliott, saying politicians have "ignored" the problems of flooding. "Some serious political will is needed," she said.

Cyril Brownlee of the DUP jumped in to defend his colleagues. "I want to correct the assumption that politicians did nothing. Arlene Foster visited flood affected parts on two occasions. First Minister Peter Robinson also visited some areas," he said.

Ulster Unionist Alex Baird was quick to point out that he too visited some flood-hit parts of Fermanagh with colleagues Tom Elliott and Party Leader Sir. Reg Empey. "But we did it without the photo shoots," he added.

In a statement, Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew responded to the criticism she faced in this newspaper last week after it emerged that farmers affected by flooding here would not be getting any compensation. "DARD Development Advisers have been available to provide technical support in dealing with problems brought on by flooding such as feed shortage. There are currently no Executive hardship payments or compensation schemes available for farmers' losses. I have also considered all avenues for financial support from Europe, including the European Union Solidarity Fund and unfortunately the losses are not eligible in our circumstances," she said.

It was also revealed this week that November was the busiest month for calls to the Flooding Incident Line with 648 incidents reported - the highest monthly total since the line went live in January. Operators manning the phones passed the details of the particular incident to the relevant Flood Response Agency - Rivers Agency, Roads Service or Northern Ireland Water.

44 of those calls were made in Fermanagh, a massive jump from the 12 calls made in August. 138 incidents were logged in August across the whole province, the busiest month for the line up until November.

Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson commended the flooding line. "During November, many parts of Northern Ireland suffered the worst flooding in years. Indeed many parts of Fermanagh are continuing to feel the effects of the rainfall levels. The Flooding Incident Line certainly cannot prevent flooding, but it is playing an important part in simplifying the process of reporting a flood," he said.

At the peak of the flooding on November 12, when 159 incidents were reported, callers had to wait an average of only five seconds for their call to be answered.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 10 Dec 09

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