Despite initial assurances from Lagan Construction, that the works for the Fermoy Flood Relief Plan were on track, councillors and members of the public are now concerned about lingering delays, particularly at Ashe Quay.

Cllr Noel McCarthy said that since Christmas, people in the town feel that there has been a slow down with works around Ashe Quay and he added that they were told that the work would be done on a phased basis, but now they are faced with a situation where works are ongoing at a number of different locations at the same time.

Cllr McCarthy said that there is now an 8-week delay on the works there, as they were meant to be completed in June and now will not be finished until August. He questioned why Lagan Construction were not sticking to the original plan and time frame, saying that the council needed to receive an updated report on the works and an explanation behind the delays.

Mayor Michael Hanley agreed that in a time when many businesses are struggling, the work should be done on a phased basis to reduce the impact on the businesses.

Cllr Seamus Coleman added that they met with Lagan on February 19 and it seemed as if everything was on schedule, now two months later, it has emerged that there will be an 8-week delay.

“Now we are eight weeks behind, it is as if no work was done since that meeting”, adding that because works have been progressing on different sites, it has led to a situation where machinery has been travelling on the roads during business hours.

“We are not a building site. It’s obvious now that what we were told on February 19, that everything was rosy, is not true,” he said.