Mr. John Sydenham:

Cork city has a long history of flooding. This scheme will provide protection against tidal and river flooding to about 2,100 properties, including 900 homes, and will extend from the Inniscarra Dam to the city centre, which is a distance of approximately 19 km. While many options were considered in the development of this scheme by the OPW, which is a body that has extensive experience and knowledge in the areas of flood risk management and conservation, in partnership with Cork City and County Councils, the scheme presented here today is the only technically viable and cost-beneficial option to provide the required standard of protection to Cork. The current estimated life cost of the project at €140 million represents the largest flood relief project proposed in Ireland. Substantial stakeholder and public consultation has taken place on this project. It is estimated that this will protect against significant flood damage. It is worth pointing out that the 2009 river flood and the 2014 tidal flood amounted to €90 million and €40 million in damages, respectively. Work on this project determined that the solution required optimised use of existing hydroelectric dams for flood storage and flood defences downstream. In line with international best practice, the standard of protection to be provided by the scheme is the one-in-100-year flood from the River Lee and the one-in-200-year flood from the tide. This is part of an overall statutory process. The scheme is being progressed under the Arterial Drainage Acts and the statutory process is ongoing. The formal public consultation - that is, the public exhibition - of the scheme commenced last December and is being progressed in close partnership with both Cork City Council and Cork County Council.

I will refer to certain images that members have in front of them. The following key points need to be taken into consideration when looking at this scheme in more detail. Over €20 million is to be invested in the repair of the historic quay walls, many of which are at risk of collapse, as occurred with Grenville Place in the 2009 flood. Over 400 heritage structures within the city area will be protected. As part of the process, the detailed design staff include a grade 1 OPW conservation architect to ensure we are protecting the cultural heritage accordingly. The proposed defence height of the majority of the quays is 2 ft or less. I refer the committee to figure 2. Figure 2 is another photomontage but it gives a clear perception of existing key walls, which members will see in the images of the existing walls and what we are proposing. Do members have that image?