Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I understand that the procurement process for the construction contract is under way and that Irish Water is now aiming to be in a position for construction to begin in the first half of 2019. We had false dawns and promises regarding construction in 2016. What is different this time? How confident is the Minister of State that Irish Water will get going on that and begin construction next year? Can he advise what is different from 2016?

Furthermore, I refer to the fact that the Coachford scheme is bundled with a number of other schemes. I understand that this is being done to gain efficiencies through economies of scale. However, will delays in other schemes hold back schemes such as this? The local experience of bundling has not been positive. For example, our Garda station in Macroom is bundled with projects in Sligo and Clonmel. Although a site has been available for the past two years, there has been no progress in Macroom because the project is waiting for progress on a site in Sligo. Will bundling these sewerage schemes together and having to deal with a range of different issues will cause a delay in any of these schemes? The Coachford and Ballyvourney schemes will have to go through land acquisitions and contested compulsory purchase orders, CPOs. The Minister of State should also bear in mind that those delays are not just delaying the scheme itself. As construction costs go up, delays in the contract will mean a more expensive scheme, which undermines the bundling in the first place. If a scheme is ready to go, can it proceed independently of those with which it is bundled? Could the Coachford scheme move ahead without being held back by any other scheme in the bundle?

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