Mr. Jim Casey:

I thank the Deputy for his question. I reiterate what Mr. Conlon said. We absolutely acknowledge the devastation of the Storm Babette event in Midleton and east Cork. It was a horrendous event. Regrettably, we were not in a position to have a scheme delivered to prevent the impact of that event.

Regarding why the scheme was not delivered at that time, the Deputy mentioned that nothing had been done. While I accept that nothing was done to deliver a scheme to protect the community, a lot of work had been done to work towards that objective. In fact, the preferred option for the scheme design had been identified at that stage. The important thing is what happens next after that event.