Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very happy to give Deputy McCarthy that assurance. This scheme is a priority for the OPW and for me. I genuinely feel the Bandon scheme, along with the Skibbereen and the Clonakilty schemes, will result in significant flood mitigation for the people of west Cork. They are three exciting projects and I want to see all three underway.

I can certainly understand the frustration. Sometimes when the solution is on a piece of paper or on a map on the wall and people can see it and if there is a delay, it can nearly be more frustrating than before the solution was even devised. However, I know Deputy McCarthy and the people of Bandon will appreciate that there is a legal case but I can assure them that the money is in the OPW budget to do this and my staff and our legal advisers are working as hard as they possibly can to resolve this as quickly as they possibly can.

Deputy McCarthy, his constituency colleagues and representatives of Cork County Council have sought to meet with me and the OPW officials. I would be delighted to facilitate that in February. I will certainly keep the Deputy and the House up-to-date as this progresses. I hope we can get over this legal issue as quickly as possible so we can move ahead with delivering what I think is a really exciting and beneficial scheme for the people of Bandon.

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