Lough Funshinagh flood victim 'disappointed' after Taoiseach fails to meet her
Taoiseach Simon Harris paid a low-key visit to Lough Funshinagh in South Roscommon last weekend, while Tánaiste Micheál Martin is expected to view the flooding crisis there tomorrow (Wednesday).
The Taoiseach's visit on Sunday was not announced in advance, and was described by his spokesperson as a private visit to meet affected families.
However Ellie McLaughlin, a mother of three who was forced to move out of her home in Lysterfield, Curraghboy, due to the crisis, said Mr Harris did not meet with her and she was not aware of his visit until after it was over.
"To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. He met with nobody from the whole of the Curraghboy area, and both of the families who had to be evacuated from their houses (last month) were not even aware of the visit.
"I learned about it from a newspaper article which, interestingly, used a photo of my evacuated home to tell the story of Simon Harris coming down to visit affected families. But he certainly didn't visit my family.
"I've had no contact whatsoever from him. I'm not sure who he met but he didn't meet me or any of my neighbours," she told the Westmeath Independent.
Ellie said it was her understanding that there would be no flood relief works carried out until 2025, and until these works were implemented it was inevitable her home would flood again.
"Everything is up in the air at the moment," she said. "The water (around the house) was deep enough for one of my kids to drown in, and there's absolutely no way I'm going to put them or me at risk again. So we're in limbo, really."
Roscommon Fianna Fáil Senator Eugene Murphy said his party's leader, Micheál Martin, would be visiting Lough Funshinagh tomorrow morning (Wednesday).
Senator Murphy said the Attorney General was currently assessing whether a legal solution to the crisis could be found, but he played down hopes of an imminent breakthrough.
"There is an effort being made to get around (legal restrictions preventing the use of a flood relief pipeline) for this summer, because they need to get water out of the lake, irrespective of the long-term plan.
"It's a very difficult situation and it would be wrong to say it's over the line, because it's not," he said.
At a council meeting in Roscommon on Monday, Curraghboy's Cllr Tony Ward called on the Government to facilitate the use of emergency powers by Roscommon County Council in order to alleviate the flooding emergency.
"This issue has been ongoing for ten years, and once there's an injunction in place (preventing the use of the flood relief pipe) nothing will happen, so that injunction has to be lifted," Cllr Ward said.