Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is an urgency because the town is a flat surface - as flat as a pool table, unfortunately. It is at the foot of the Slieve Bloom Mountains. The council has done good work each year. I ask Mr Casey to keep in contact with the council and keep all the channels open in terms of the Pound river, the Owenass and all the other tributaries there. It is a fine balance regarding what can happen. In particular, the houses on Manor Road have been close to flooding on a number of occasions. It is important that the work be done. The last big flood was in 2017 and work is not due to be complete until January 2027, which is ten years later. It is a long time. I know that some of the different stages cannot be overlapped. I ask Mr. Casey to come back to me if there is anything else that can be done to accelerate that.

The cost for the Mountmellick project was just over €3 million.