Galway City Council has denied that blocked drains were responsible for the flash floods which affected a small number of businesses in Galway city centre on Sunday night.
A spokesman for the city council said yesterday that the flooding was caused by the heaviest day of rain in the area since 1996, with one-and-a-half inches recorded in a five-hour period.
Commercial premises on Flood Street (which has been flooded many times, hence its name), Quay Street and Augustine Street required assistance from Galway Fire Brigade.
Part of the Dublin road near Oranmore was closed due to the downfall on Sunday evening.
Galway Chamber of Commerce praised the quick response of Galway Fire Brigade and Galway City Council officials, and said this had averted more serious damage.
Mr Michael Coyle, chief executive officer of Galway Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber had asked affected members to assess the scale of the damage, but it did not think that the extent of the flooding merited a compensation claim to the State.
Mr Coyle said that the chamber was concerned about the fact that several members were unable to get insurance, because of their proximity to the Claddagh area where there has been flooding before.
Normally, the flooding occurs during high tide and bad weather and many businesses keep sandbags on their premises.
