Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)

I very much appreciate the work being done by officials in both the OPW and the Department of public expenditure, but there is frustration. As someone who comes from a legal background, I fully understand the dangers of rushing any decision and taking short cuts. Therefore, it is important in this case that the t's are crossed and the i's are dotted. I urge that the public consultation process proceeds at the earliest possible date because there are people who are very supportive of this project. I accept that people will challenge it again. It is their constitutional right to do so. We want to get on with the public consultation. The Department has the report. We must have the public consultation at the earliest possible date so that we can then proceed to the next stage when it has taken place.

It is not just about the public consultation but about getting information out on the advantage to the area of carrying out this work and making sure that properties and families are no longer in danger of a major flood occurring in the area. It can be seen in photographs from 2010 that there was up to 1.5 m of water in commercial premises and houses. It is a frightening experience for a business or family to have to deal with and therefore it is important that this scheme proceeds at the earliest possible date. Let us hold the public consultation, get on to the next step and engage with the contractors to get the scheme up and running. The scheme itself will take at least three years to complete. It will cause major disruption so it is important that it is planned very carefully and well by everyone involved.

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