Slaney Search and Rescue has said they are baffled and upset by a complaint made by Wexford County Council to local gardaí in Enniscorthy following their rescue of a family of four at the height of Tuesday's flooding in the town.
Chairman Shane O'Connor said he was contacted by gardaí who told him an official from Wexford County Council had complained they "had overstepped the mark by taking people out of their homes".
Mr O'Connor said they had launched one of their boats after receiving a call from local Independent County Councillor Jackser Owens.
He was concerned about a family of three adults and a newborn baby who were stranded in their apartment on Templeshannon Quay.
In all, the group took up to 15 families out of their homes last Tuesday.
Founded by Mr O'Connor's father, Harry, Slaney Search and Rescue is run by volunteers and funded through public donations.
Mr O'Connor said their track record is well known. They regularly support other emergency services in the area.
"It is frustrating more than anything else. Where has this come from? Common sense is not prevailing. It is like a slap in the face for the people of the town that their organisation is being treated like this by the council", Mr O'Connor said.
Wexford County Council confirmed that it was in contact with local gardaí on Tuesday to assist in preventing members of the public from entering flooded areas where there were rapidly moving flood waters.
Wexford County Council Chief Executive Eddie Taaffe confirmed this again on Friday.
Speaking on South East Radio, he praised the work of the voluntary organisation saying at the time they were ferrying people from one side of the town to another "in a safe way and they were taking precautions".
However, because of fears for the structural integrity of the bridge, he said council officials asked them to stop ferrying people across the floodwater, as it meant people would then have to cross the old bridge.
"Our roads engineers had a fear about the structural integrity of the walls of the old bridge and that is why we decided to close it to pedestrian traffic. It wasn't what Slaney Search and Rescue were doing. It was the fact that we wanted to minimise that risk to pedestrians on the bridge."
Mr Owens said he will be raising the garda complaint at the next local authority meeting.
"Who made the phone call, it is just not good enough. We have three adults and a baby alive today thanks to them. It was the only boat available that I could see on the River Slaney at that time."
