Mr. Ezra MacManamon:

Non-return valves would certainly be considered for all of the drainage outfalls in the city. There is a perception in Cork that there is a problem with the water coming up from the ground, as the witnesses from Cork city are saying. That is true and it is being investigated. Our consultants are doing a lot of work on that as we move into the detailed design stage of the project. Apart from Cork, it is a problem that is well known wherever we consider building flood defences. Seepage of water through the ground is always a problem that we consider when we are considering building flood defences. We deal with it through a variety of engineering means such as putting in sheet-piled cut-offs under flood defences or embankments to stop the water flowing from the river through the ground into the protected area behind or flood defence embankments which lengthen the flow-paths that are involved and things like that.

We are very much aware of this problem and we are addressing it through the non-return valves the Deputy asked about and also giving it wider consideration as we move into the detailed design processes.