Dargle Flood Protection Scheme Causes Rodent Infestation of Little Bray

Dargle Flood Protection Scheme Causes Rodent Infestation of Little Bray

Sinn Féin councillors John Brady and Rossa Murray have called for
immediate action to be taken to deal with a serious rodent infestation
of residential areas of Little Bray due to ongoing construction works
along the River Dargle as part of the €28m flood protection scheme.

Cllr Brady stated "I have been contacted by a number of concerned
residents over the last few weeks, they have stated that since the
work on the construction of the flood protection scheme for the river
Dargle started large numbers of rodents have been seen and caught in
the homes of residents. What is happening in the Dargle area is not
normal and the large volume of rats showing up in the area is a direct
result of the destruction of their habit on the Dargle due to the
essential €28m flood protection scheme. This work is critical however
a plan to deal with the rodent infestation needs to be implemented
immediately".

Cllr Brady continued "This is a serious problem and its impacting on
the local community, one elderly resident has recently caught 5 rats
in her kitchen and has spent nearly €2000 on hiring exterminators.
Another family were forced to leave their home for a number of weeks
while rodents in her home were dealt with by exterminators. These
exterminators stated the cause of the infestation was the ongoing
works in the river".

Cllr Murray said "This is a horrible situation for families and
elderly residents of the Little Bray area to find themselves in. The
flood protection scheme is badly needed, but one would have thought
that this problem would have been foreseen and plans would have been
in place to try keep the problem under control and try minimise the
rodents spreading into the homes in the area. Unfortunately there does
not seem to be any provisions in place to deal with the issue. When
residents have contacted the council about the rats in their homes
they have been told to contact the HSE who in turn have said there is
nothing they can do".

Cllr Brady concluded "The council must immediately put in place a plan
to deal with this issue, the flood protection scheme is costing
€28million and some of this funding must be offset to keep the
infestation under control. The work is being carried out on a 2.75km
stretch of the river from the harbour up to Silverbridge on the N11
and it's expected to last for up to 2 years. This problem is a direct
result of work that is being carried out on behalf of the council and
they must deal with accordingly, passing the issue onto the HSE or
anyone else is simply not acceptable".