Drains became blocked in Woodquay on Tuesday, following heavy rain, resulting in raw sewage coming up onto the street - a situation a local senator has called “unacceptable”.
While the overflow was dealt with by the Galway City Council environmental staff, Fianna Fáil senator Ollie Crowe has said that poor drainage infrastructure is a major issue in the inner city areas, such as Woodquay, Bohermore, and Shantalla.
“Drainage infrastructure in these areas have not been upgraded in decades,” he said. “As a result, it is causing damage to the areas in terms of their standard of living, and there are issues when the drains are close to blocking.”
.
Sen Crowe said upgrading the infrastructure needs to happen in the short term. “It is incumbent upon the Government to provide funding for this and it will make a real and tangible impact on the lives of residents in these communities who should have to tolerate this on an ongoing basis.”
The Bohermore based senator has written to the Environment Minister, Eamon Ryan, requesting that ring fenced funding be provided to Irish Water to carry out the necessary upgrades as a matter of priority.
