Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I commit to meeting with the Cork County Council engineers and to going down to Midleton to meet the people of Midleton along with the Deputy and others.

The Deputy referred to the planning side. Following Storm Babet, an assessment of the proposed scheme is under way and involves remodelling to test storm events against preferred options that were identified ahead of Storm Babet. Results show we can be confident we have designed a scheme that can meet the standard of protection. The next steps are to finalise the detailed scheme design and seek planning consent. Work is ongoing on development of planning and design for the scheme. Work on stage 2 with some environmental services, including bats and birds, got under way this winter. Discussions will involve operators of critical infrastructure and landowners whose lands will be needed as part of the scheme. The OPW and Cork County Council have also advanced their consideration of the best route for consent. The decision is due shortly.

There are two main options for planning consent: Part 10 and the Arterial Drainage Act 1945. The potential impact on the programme and delivery of the scheme under each option is being considered before a decision on the form of consent to be adopted. The decision will inform the agreement with some 80 landowners whose lands are required to construct and further the scheme. We will have a final decision over the coming weeks.

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