Waterways Ireland is being urged to admit culpability for the recent flooding in Corbally, Limerick.

14 homes were devastated by flooding and the local school and rugby club were also affected.

Limerick Sinn Féin Councillor Maurice Quinlivan called on the body to make restitution to those affected after what he describes as "serious neglect and ineptitude" in the monitoring of the Canal Bank where the flooding occurred.

Cllr Quinlivan said: "It is now clear that Waterways Ireland’s failure to monitor the Canal Bank caused the serious flood in Corbally on Saturday. This was not an 'act of god' or 'freak of nature'; rather, it was something which could have been easily avoided. I am in no doubt it was primarily caused by the ineptitude of Waterways Ireland. Approximately 14 houses at Richmond Park, Corbally were flooded, the Local School was affected and the local Rugby Club, St. Mary’s RFC is still assessing potential damage to its facilities as a result of this flooding.

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"Local residents are rightly incensed with what they see as serious neglect and ineptitude of those supposedly in charge of the Canal. They firmly believe that their concerns were ignored. If these concerns were taken into consideration and appropriate action taken then people would not be standing in their flooded homes today.

"It is simply not good enough that this can happen. We need a response and I will be calling for Waterways Ireland to address the next Metropolitan Meeting and explain exactly what happened and to compensate the Corbally residents as a matter of urgency."

(CD)