Mr. John Sydenham:

As Mr. Fitzgerald mentioned, the OPW has undertaken a comprehensive assessment of the flood risk countrywide, culminating in the recent launch of the catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, programme, which is a ten-year, complex programme involving the development of approximately 150 projects, incorporating 118 new projects as well as existing projects in the pipeline. When complete, it will have protected approximately 95% of the properties in the country that are at risk. We are working hard on the problem of flooding nationally.

The Ballycar problem is a slightly unusual one insofar as it relates to a particular aspect of the catchment, that is, the rail line. While it sounds harsh, that is not cost effective in an economic sense. I accept that there are broader issues and I appreciate the concerns in that regard and the importance of rail. In developing CFRAM, we had to examine quite a number of areas countrywide where there were properties at risk. After assessing the pros and cons of possible solutions, any project that did not pass a certain threshold in terms of economic viability - the benefit-to-cost ratio, BCR - was not one that we could progress. There is an economic reality to which we must adhere.

That said, we work extensively with bodies countrywide. It is in everyone's interest to work collaboratively in attending to flooding problems. Even though there are many matters that are effectively not our job, we will do everything we possibly can to work with local authorities and other agencies on attending to serious problems. Everyone working in the field of flood relief and flood risk management sees the devastating impact on communities, which is problematic and recurring, so it behoves everyone to work together.

There has been an emphasis on the 2011 RPS report. After assessing the five possible solutions, the revised report that was published by the same consultants in 2015 recommended raising the rail line. That is an important consideration. When they are looked at, there is a solution to most problems. Senator Coffey asked who would pay for this if it came down to a simple issue of funding. There is more work to be done collectively to find a solution, as there are differing views in the room this morning. We need to be clear on what can be done to fix this, what is the best approach and from where the funding will come. It is a piece of infrastructure and there are well-tried methodologies for obtaining funding to invest in infrastructure, which is an important criterion.