Waterford village still awaiting flood relief measures after Storm Chandra devastation
Senator Joe Conway raised the issues facing Passage East in County Waterford in the Seanad recently
A village in County Waterford is still awaiting flood relief measures that were promised in the aftermath of Storm Chandra, the Seanad has heard.
Independent Senator Joe Conway raised the issue during a recent discussion on flood risk management.
Senator Conway said: “For as long as people can remember, Passage East, County Waterford, has been the victim of regular flooding.
“Last winter, there was an event called Storm Chandra, which I am sure we all remember. It occasioned a lot of flooding all over the country, but particularly in the south east.
“Passage East was decimated by flooding in the early days of February 2026. Two areas, Brookside and Post Office Square, were devastated when the local tributary overflowed.
“We had the unfortunate spectacle of octogenarians out in the street trying to stem the tide as their properties were destroyed.”
He outlined how Minister of State Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran visited Passage East in the aftermath of the storm.
“On 8 February, the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, took time out of his weekend to come down to talk to the community.
“He listened to their complaints and anger and walked around the town. He talked to people and did a fine job of getting a hands-on appreciation of the situation.
“He was accompanied by a lot of people who knew a lot about the former flooding in Passage East.”
Senator Conway highlighted the promises made by Minister Moran, which he says are yet to be delivered.
“If I remember correctly, he made two commitments to us that morning. There would be money from the Department to provide individual property protections, IPPs, for vulnerable properties.
“These would be given to Waterford City and County Council so the work could go ahead.
“I have spoken to my independent colleague on Waterford council, Councillor Declan Barry, who tells me that to the best of his vision and knowledge, those IPPs have not been put in place yet.”
He urged Minister Moran to deliver on his promises before Passage East is hit by further flooding.
“We are now in the flooding and winter season and while lightning may not strike, Passage East will get hit again as sure as eggs are eggs.
“I would simply like the Minister of State to tell me whether the money has been supplied to Waterford City and County Council to provide IPP protection and if the IPPs are in place.”
In response to Senator Conway, Minister Moran said he was very familiar with the situation in Passage East.
He stated: “As the Senator knows, I am very familiar with the flooding and coastal erosion problems across Waterford having visited the county in February of this year.
“I witnessed at first hand the devastation that this event caused to people, businesses and communities, particularly along the east coast and south east coast of Ireland, including Waterford.
“Following the storm event, I met senior officials from eight local authorities to discuss interim measures that could be introduced to provide protection to those areas that were badly impacted by flooding from the storm. This included senior officials from Waterford City and County Council.”
Minister Moran outlined the funding that has been provided to local authorities to address the flooding issues.
“On 30 April, I was delighted to announce the approval of €6.6 million in once-off funding to those eight local authorities to introduce the interim flood protection measures that they had identified in response to the event.
“This included €141,000 for Waterford City and County Council, of which €69,000 is to cover the initial cost of surveying a total of 103 properties for introducing individual property measures.
“These 60 properties in Passage East, and 43 properties in Tallow, were identified by the council to benefit from this IPP, following Storm Chandra.
“The survey reports for these locations have been received from Waterford City and County Council. The survey reports are under consideration by the OPW.”
He concluded by saying that senior officials from the OPW had met representatives of the Waterford City and County Council earlier this week.
Minister Moran added that the OPW expects to revert back to the local authority shortly.