Midleton residents whose homes were devastated in floods say they feel forgotten

Furniture, appliances, flooring, kitchen units, and windows have had to be thrown out, with most homes unable to get flood cover from insurers.

Yet while Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and various ministers appeared in Midleton to assure support to vulnerable business owners who lost hundreds of thousands worth of collective stock, there has been no focus from Government for Beechwood, its residents say.

The estate is a mix of private homes and Cork County Council-owned, but most say they are in limbo waiting to see what comes next.

Pauline Duggan, who has lived in the estate for 30 years, said even sleeping and eating in the days since has proved difficult.

“We are here 30 years but I have never seen anything like that before, it came like a river. So much has been destroyed yet we cannot get flood cover. I wake up in the night crying,” she said.

Residents feel “like we’re invisible”, she said.

Volunteers from the likes of Midleton Hub and local councillors like Danielle Twomey have been “amazing”, she said.

Those volunteers, as well as the estate’s teenagers and young adults, are heroes, according to Ms Duggan and others affected.

Next door, 80-year-old Jean Walsh saw everything she owns wiped out, save for her cherished armchair.

Her daughter Emily Hallinan said: “There is so much of our lives gone, from furniture to the kitchen to little things that may not look expensive but are
priceless in sentimental value. We worry about what is to come, how we rebuild our mum’s home.”

Margaret Crone got stuck at her place of work on the day of the flood and arrived back home the next morning to a scene of carnage, with everything she has known gone.

However, the grandson of her neighbour Marian Buckley managed to save the most precious keepsake of all.

The ashes of Ms Crone’s late husband managed to be saved when 17-year-old Dylan Buckley waded through feet of water to bring them to safety.

Dylan and other young people should be recognised for their selfless efforts along with “the best neighbours in the world” in coming to the aid of their community, along with Midleton Hub volunteers, she said.

“You only realise how much you appreciate the simple things when they are gone,” said Ms Crone.

While businesses in Midleton could receive up to €100,000 in payments as part of new relief proposals, homeowners in the likes of Beechwood say they have no communication as to what happens to them.

Those in privately owned homes in the estate are waiting on insurance assessments to see if what happened qualifies, but others have been told they do not have cover.

While community welfare officers have been empathetic and very helpful, the residents have asked for the picture to be made clear so they can start planning their recovery.

Late on Tuesday, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys announced an additional €3m in funding for the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme and an increases to the income limits in order to assist some 223 households in Cork and Waterford following Storm Babet. 

Levels of payment under the scheme depend on the relative severity of damage experienced and the household’s ability to meet these costs, ensuring that the funding is appropriately targeted, she has said.

The scheme does not cover risks that are already covered by insurance policies or cover business or commercial losses.