BY FERMANAGH HERALD STAFF
THE Minister for the Rivers Agency, Michelle Gildernew, whose staff were at that moment, pumping out water from the roadway at the Erneside shopping centre roundabout in Enniskillen, suitably arrived by boat to see for herself the effects of the flooding.
The flood has cut off access to almost all of the shops along the Derrychara Link road, resulting in loss of trade since last weekend. Elsewhere, access to schools and farms across the county has been made difficult.
At the business end, the flooding in Enniskillen has meant lost trade. As one Derrychara trader put it: "You are relying on this time of the year to get a few pounds to keep you going for the rest of the year. We were given an assurance some years back when they closed this road for six weeks to do a scheme at the roundabout that another flooding would not happen again - and here we are back to square one."
Ms Gildernew told the Herald she had never seen flooding like it, and reported that Lough Erne was at its highest level since records began.
"We have had unprecedented levels of rainfall. Three months' rain fell in the one period in Fermanagh. Rivers Agency did everything they could. They lowered the levels of the lake right down to the lowest possible level in anticipation of this but, as you can see, this really is a horrendous flooding event.
"A lot of agricultural land is saturated and there are a lot of minor roads throughout the county flooded but, thankfully, so far there weren't a lot of homes and businesses affected by the flooding, although some of them are cut off."
The Minister said the damage to people's homes was 'less than you would imagine it would be, but this is an awful event.
She went on: "The problem for us now is that the ground is wet as it is, with still showery weather for the next week. So, it's going to take them (Rivers Agency staff) at least a week to get the water levels down to where they need to be, so we're going to be living with this for the next few days anyway."
Asked if she had any influence in securing a reduction in people's rates for loss of earnings arising from the flood, she said this would be something for District Councils. However, the Minister revealed she had just come straight from a meeting with the Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson where she had stressed the need around flooding incidents to ensure that the Flood Alleviation Plan which her Department was carrying out through the Rivers Agency had a budget to go forward.
"We recognise that this is now every year we're dealing with flooding incidents in different places and we have to make sure that this Plan goes ahead and, in spite of the difficult financial climate, that that flooding work needs to be carried out.
"In the days ahead, my officials will undertake a speedy review of this flooding incident. Under the EU Floods Directive, Rivers Agency are required to review all flood risk plans across the north of Ireland in conjunction with our southern counterparts.
"As a result of the current situation, the timescale for Lough Erne will now be brought forward from 2015 to 2013."
The Minister concluded: "My thoughts are with everyone affected, and my heart goes out to those whose day to day business has been upset, particularly local schoolchildren whose education has been disrupted. Everything that is possible is being do to manage the situation, but it must be remembered that we are dealing with very significant volumes of water in the loughs and it will take time for water levels to fall."
