Sinn Féin MLA Jemma Dolan has presented a petition to the Minister for Infrastructure Nichola Mallon calling on her to take action to address Boho flooding (inset, right).

Flooding has been an ongoing issue in Boho for numerous years. The impact of the issue was particularly evident in February, 2020, following Storm Dennis, where torrential rain left vast areas of West Fermanagh, including Boho and Derrygonnelly, flooded.

Speaking in the Assembly on Monday, January 24, Ms. Dolan said: “I would like to thank and commend the 384 people who took the time to sign this petition. Considering the population of Boho, a dispersed rural community in West Fermanagh, this is an astonishingly high number of respondents.

“Every time there is heavy rain, the community of Boho is flooded. This stops carers getting to their patients, it stops residents getting to work, and it even stops children getting to school.

“If any urban area in the North was consistently suffering similar floods, large amounts of capital expenditure would be used to alleviate the problem.

“DfI Roads Service, Rivers Agency and Fermanagh and Omagh Council work well to help the Boho community during times of flooding. But we need to prevent the floods from happening in the first place.

“Unfortunately, the Department of Infrastructure has time and again said that the large amounts of money to lessen the impacts of this regular flooding is not value for money. They are wrong, and just because this affects a small population, this is unfair in the extreme.”

During her speech, Ms. Dolan called on all statutory bodies to work together to find solutions to the flooding in Boho and the Minister for Infrastructure to find the financial resources to pay for the works to be done.