Sinn Féin MP Órfhlaith Begley has requested the Infrastructure Minister Nicola Mallon to visit Strabane and urgently address the serious flooding problem in the area.

The West Tyrone MP said:

“Many businesses and residents in Strabane have been severely impacted by extensive flooding in the town on Thursday.

“This incident comes just a few weeks after the local community were given reassurances by the Department for Infrastructure and NI Water that the cause of the flooding would be addressed which would prevent future flooding.  

“This is the second serious flooding occurrence in a month which has left business owners and residents extremely frustrated and upset at the failure to resolve this problem.

“It has also caused further financial stress on businesses that are already under pressure due to Covid-19. 

“I visited O’Neills factory on Thursday afternoon along with Maolíosa McHugh MLA and saw the considerable damage that was done to their premises. 

“I have spoken with several businesses and residents who had only just finished repairing the damage caused by flooding from earlier this summer and some of them have said they will struggle to do so again. 

“I have therefore written to the Infrastructure Minister Nicola Mallon to request that she prioritises visiting Strabane and I am calling on her department and the other relevant statutory bodies to work together urgently to ensure that we do not see a repeat of this in the future.”