Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, has asked local authorities, including Cork City Council, for reports on the effects of the recent flooding in their areas and an assessment of the measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of such flooding in the future. The Deputy will appreciate that the Minister does not have responsibility for the activities of the Electricity Supply Board and he awaits the report from Cork City Council which I am sure will cover the recent events relating to the release of water by the ESB.

Primary responsibility for flood risk management rests with the Office of Public Works, which has the lead agency role for devising and implementing measures, including flood relief schemes, to deal with flooding in Ireland. With regard to measures to be taken against future flood risks in the Cork City area, the OPW commissioned the River Lee catchment flood risk assessment and management study, in conjunction with Cork County Council and Cork City Council in 2006, as the pilot study for the national flood risk assessment management programme. The objective of the study is to identify and map existing and potential future flood risk areas in the River Lee catchment, through detailed hydrological and hydraulic modelling and flood-mapping. Once the flood risk has been quantified and mapped throughout the catchment, with particular focus on developed areas, or areas under potential development pressure, a catchment flood risk management plan is developed, which includes a prioritised set of actions, measures and works to manage the flood risk in the catchment.

In light of the recent flood events of November 2009 and the subsequent need to study the new data, the timeframe for completion has been extended to allow for a review of the risks and proposed options. Once this review is complete, the flood risk management plan and associated strategic environmental assessment will be published by the OPW, along with the flood maps, for formal public consultation early in the new year. After all relevant comments from this consultation have been addressed in the catchment flood risk management plan, the study will be complete and the recommendations will be put forward for implementation on a phased basis.

When the various reports and the above mentioned study are complete, the position going forward will be much clearer for all the parties concerned. Separately, the national director of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management has been asked to carry out a review of the operational procedures of the framework for major emergency management during the flooding event.

The Minister would like to thank the City and County Council staff, together with the Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and voluntary bodies, for all the work they undertook during the recent flooding event. Although the major emergency response procedures operated well, the Minister is, of course, very conscious of the distress and disturbance that individuals and their families continue to experience as a result of the flooding.

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