UCC and ESB will go to High Court to settle long running case following 2009 flooding of Cork City

Friday, 26 March 2021 09:04

The Irish Examiner reports the Supreme Court yesterday found that there was contributory negligence by UCC in relation to the flooding.

While ruling that there had been negligence by UCC, the Supreme Court said the exact liability would have to be decided by the High Court.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the ESB had been negligent in relation to the floods which struck the city on the 19th and 20th of November 2009, causing millions of euro worth of damage to homes and businesses.

The ESB released million of tonnes of water from the Inniscarra Dam on the night due to fears the dam could fail if the water was not released.

The waters flooded 29 UCC owned buildings including the Western Gateway Building and Mardyke Arena and led to the college being closed for a week.

The Irish Examiner reports Chief Justice Frank Clarke said he was satisfied that UCC had failed to act on a flood risk assessment and did not respond adequately to warnings about the impending risk of flooding.

Insurance company Aviva estimated the damage at UCC alone to be around €20 million.