Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I respectfully suggest the Minister of State might familiarise himself more with the lines of argument here. This is a key argument that has been put forward, not just by the Save Cork City campaign but also by eminent and respected academics from UCC's department of civil engineering. Their argument is that given sufficient warning of weather events, the dam system the ESB already has in place upriver is more than sufficient to dam water for a very limited period of time or to release water in advance in such a way as to protect the city from upriver rain-driven flooding without the need for the OPW wall scheme. Rather than replying to the question now, I suggest the Minister of State might read the paper. I will ensure it is sent on to him and I will move on to my next question.