Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy spoke about flood relief schemes. He may recall his own comments in relation to the Cork city flood relief scheme, where he described the OPW's proposals as crude and not taking into account the people of Cork's relationship with the River Lee. He backed the campaign to, essentially, undermine the OPW's programme of flood relief. I have no problem with people making submissions and trying to adjust and adapt schemes, but when this goes to the extent of delaying schemes for years, then I do have a problem. When the OPW does respond, change and adapt schemes, then I have a real problem.

There is about €1.3 billion in the national development plan, NDP, for flood relief schemes. The flood relief scheme design that has emerged from Glanmire is under construction now. I pay tribute to Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, because he drove that initiative prior to getting elected. He made it a campaign issue for himself. Those works are now under construction. To be fair to Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, he did work hard to put that project on the agenda with others.

In Cork city, the flood relief scheme has now been going on for years because of objections ending up in court and so on. People must have balance and perspective. Cork has been flooding since I was growing up. The quay walls have not been properly addressed. What is being proposed is excellent in terms of the public realm improvements such work would represent, as well as preventing flooding in the city centre. Yet there are objections. In Blackpool, an area Deputy Barry knows well, again there has been an inability to resolve the problems there and it is going the full distance in terms of objections to the flood relief scheme. If we were to talk to the traders and the people who live in Blackpool, they would tell us they have had numerous floods.

The funding is there and the schemes are designed but it is just taking far too long in terms of the planning process, in my view, with objections and people not looking at these proposals from a balanced perspective. We must weigh things up. We are not going to get the perfect solution. We all have subjective views as to what constitutes the best type of flooding scheme, but we are not all self-appointed experts either. There comes a stage when it is necessary to facilitate the construction of flood relief schemes that would make a huge difference. Where they have been put in, in Clonmel, in Fermoy and in Mallow, they have been effective.

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