Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works and flood relief, I am pleased to set out some of the priority programmes of work to be funded from the 2017 Revised Estimate for the Office of Public Works. The OPW is responsible for a wide variety of functions with an overall budget of €394 million in 2017. The principal areas of responsibility reflect two priority areas of the Government programme - flood risk management and estate management, including the heritage estate.

As members know, the key objectives of flood risk management is to reduce the risk of river and coastal flooding to homes and businesses and to provide flood risk information to be considered for effective planning in Ireland. In the assessment of flood risk the OPW must consider the potential impact of climate change to ensure appropriate plans to mitigate the risk are considered. Recognising the difficulties flooding has caused for individuals and businesses in Ireland in recent years, I am working actively to address the issues with a range of measures.

In relation to capital works, these complex engineering projects continue to present many challenges through the planning stage, the procurement process and the construction phase.

While it is widely acknowledged that there are long lead-in times for the delivery of flood relief projects, I am pleased to report that construction works commenced on seven major flood schemes in 2016, which means there are currently 11 schemes at construction stage. A further seven flood schemes are programmed to commence construction in 2017.

The projects programmed to commence this year include Athlone, Bellurgan, Blackpool, Clonakilty, Ennis south and Templemore and the first phase of the largest flood relief scheme ever to be undertaken in the State should commence in Cork city before the end of the year. I am aware that the people of Cork city have a particular interest in the scheme on the River Lee and to fully capture their observations, the public consultation has been extended to 16 March.It is expected that five of the projects currently under construction will be substantially completed in 2017 thereby bringing flood protection to an additional 2,000 properties. A further 20 projects are at various stages of planning and design stage and when completed will provide protection to several hundred properties currently at risk of flooding. Running in tandem with these major schemes, 83 localised flood relief projects were approved under the minor works scheme in 2016, which will be undertaken directly by the local authorities in the coming year.

In terms of output measures, it is worth noting that the cumulative number of properties to benefit from major flood relief works completed to date is over 7,700, with an additional 6,150 properties benefitting from local authority projects. The cumulative value of this benefit to properties, or loss avoided in economic terms, is estimated to be in the region of €1.5 billion.

The OPW’s strategic, evidence-based approach to flood risk management has been reinforced with the completion of the catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, programme. The CFRAM programme is the largest flood risk management planning programme ever undertaken in the State and has completed detailed surveys and numerical models for 300 areas at risk of flooding involving 6,700 km of watercourse and 9,400 sq. km of flood plain. The output from the ongoing CFRAM programme is a comprehensive suite of maps for the areas at risk around the country and the consultation process with local communities regarding these maps is nearing completion. I hope to submit the final plans for approval to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in the near future.

In acknowledging that structural measures may not provide the appropriate solutions in many areas, the interdepartmental flood policy co-ordination group is developing a range of policy initiatives to underpin the overall investment in managing national flood risk. The group, of which the OPW is a member, is considering a number of prevention and mitigation measures for providing flood relief which may include schemes for individual property protection and voluntary home and farmyard relocation.

Following the severe flooding events in the winter of 2015 and 2016, I am pleased to report that a memorandum will go to Government for a voluntary home relocation scheme in the coming weeks. This scheme will apply where the properties remain exposed to a high risk of flooding and the benefit of major or minor flood relief schemes will not be felt. Initial funding has been ring-fenced this year for the scheme to be administered by my office.

I am aware that some members of this committee have a particular interest in ensuring that home and business owners can insure their properties against flood damage. The most recent meeting with Insurance Ireland was held on 8 December 2016 and a further meeting has taken place since to explore the legal, technical and administrative arrangements that may allow for the further sharing of data on flood insurance cover for those 300 areas where the OPW has mapped the flood risk through the CFRAM programme. The OPW is providing Insurance Ireland with detailed background and technical information on all completed flood relief schemes, including maps showing the extent of the area protected in the anticipation that this will allow Insurance Ireland members to offer flood insurance cover. A further meeting with Insurance Ireland is scheduled for 8 March, which I will attend.

With regard to the matter of flood forecasting, I am pleased to inform members that Met Éireann is in the process of setting up a flood forecasting centre, which will be supported by additional resources within my office, to enhance the early flood warning to those at risk of flooding.

On the Shannon catchment, the Shannon flood risk State agency co-ordination working group is looking at ways to enhance ongoing co-operation of all State agencies involved with the River Shannon. A comprehensive programme of works is being developed as part of the co-ordinated approach by all State agencies involved in addressing flood risk in that catchment area, and the group is due to meet again on 21 March.

In terms of drainage maintenance, the OPW continues to maintain all arterial drainage schemes completed under the Arterial Drainage Act 1945. This investment provides ongoing protection to 650,000 acres of agricultural land, infrastructure and properties through the maintenance of 11,500 km of river channel including 730 km of embankments at an annual cost of €15 million. Separately, local authorities maintain 4,600 km of river channel providing further localised flood protection.

The other main programme of investment for my office is estate management, which encompasses the management, maintenance and development of the State’s property portfolio. In recent years, with a move towards better space management, the Office of Public Works has rationalised office accommodation, surrendering over 300 leases in recent years. However, the growing demand for space to deliver Government services will require that additional leases are taken on in 2017 and the annual Estimate will increase this year.

The OPW provides a shared service for the maintenance of accommodation occupied by Departments and manages construction projects on their behalf. Some examples of these construction projects or programmes to be initiated or delivered in 2017 includethe Garda building programme, the fit out of office accommodation at Bloom House, the refurbishment of the Seanad Chamber at Leinster House, the children’s science centre, roof works at the National Gallery and a programme of essential health and safety works under the mechanical and electrical programme.

It is worth noting that the OPW also has a key role to play in the delivery of services that are not directly funded by the OPW Vote. For example, the OPW manages a comprehensive Garda major building programme and in 2015, the Government launched a capital investment plan for An Garda Síochána for the period from 2016 to 2021, which involves the major refurbishment of stations and facilities from both the OPW and the Garda Votes. Three new divisional-regional Garda headquarters at Kevin Street, Dublin, Wexford and Galway are currently on site and will be delivered during 2017.

In the heritage area, I am pleased to report that the total number of recorded visitors to OPW sites at the end of December 2016 was in the region of 5.5 million. This is an increase of some 12.8% over the 2015 attendance and reflects the increasing popularity of our heritage product nationally and internationally. This is a key driver in terms of the economic benefit being generated for the tourism sector and receipts in this area have increased year on year to over €11 million in 2016.

The heritage sites managed by the OPW are particularly prized by foreign visitors, a demographic targeted by Fáilte Ireland in its tourism marketing. Understanding the needs of these visitors and planning for a targeted investment campaign to improve the sites will be a key part of the ongoing tourism investment programme which will be developed in parallel with Fáilte Ireland branding propositions such as the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland's Ancient East, Dublin - A Breath of Fresh Air, and a future proposition yet to emerge around the lakelands area.

Guided visitor services will continue to be provided by my office at 70 heritage sites nationwide in 2017 on either a seasonal or full-time basis. One such visitor attraction that is central to the OPW tourist offering and which has featured prominently in the 2016 commemorations is Kilmainham Gaol. Work was completed in early 2016 on the new visitor centre, which was one of the Government’s signature 1916 commemoration projects. The building was opened by An tUachtarán Michael D. Higgins at Easter and now serves as the main entry point for visitors to the gaol. The OPW heritage service will continue to develop this site as one of the country's premier tourist attractions and in the period ahead, there will be a focus on meeting a strong demand for visitors and developing further visitor offerings at the site.

A strategic partnership has been developed between Fáilte Ireland, the Department of Arts, Heritage, Rural, Regional and Gaeltacht Affairs and the OPW regarding the tourism investment programme. This promises to be a significant and beneficial relationship, which will bring a greater tourism focus on and investment in relevant projects within the heritage estate managed by the OPW. The objective of the partnership is to identify projects at heritage sites that will be suitable for investment and to develop them as tourism destinations. This year, 2017, will focus on improving existing visitor offerings at places like the Rock of Cashel, Dún Aonghasa, the Céide Fields and Brú na Bóinne and creating new visitor offerings at sites like Carlingford Castle, Knowth and Altamont.

Additionally in this period, the OPW will also seek to engage positively with the Creative Ireland initiative, which is currently being developed and seeks to build on the success of the Ireland 2016 project in the area of the creative arts in particular.

I realise that I have referenced only a small part of the work of the OPW, which has a vast array of responsibilities. If the committee has any questions on the office's Estimates requirements for 2017, I will be happy to take them.