Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I am raising this matter not for the first time. I have raised the issue of flooding in Kiltiernan-Ballinderreen area in south Galway previously. The Jennings O'Donovan & Partners report was published in November 2010 and set out clearly a review of the south Galway flood study report. Progress has been disappointing. We had flooding there in 1995, which I remember in particular. We saw serious flooding there in 2009 when there was no access to houses or farms. One of the councillors in the area, Councillor Bridie Willers, said at a public meeting recently that she and her family had to leave her house for three months. Despite the fact that good work has been done by the Office of Public Works and Galway County Council, they have not yet tried to tackle the foremost issue facing the people, that is, the issue of trying to get the water out to the sea or to drain to the sea from Kiltiernan to Brandy Harbour.

I received a letter during the week from Councillor Michael Fahy. He was informed by the acting director of services in Galway County Council, Liam Gavin, of the position on 20 January. The letter stated:

I refer to the above Kiltiernan Ballinderreen drainage scheme and your letter concerning progress on this scheme. Galway County Council have had discussions with the OPW concerning this scheme. Galway County Council are currently revising the scheme with an intention of bringing the cost benefit ratio to a level acceptable to the Office of Public Works. The review will be completed in the coming weeks and will be submitted to the OPW for approval and funding.

If there is one term that really annoys people in south Galway more than anything else it is "cost-benefit analysis", because they have been hearing it for years. The other term they have been listening to is "consultants", and we have all heard about consultants in recent times.

If the Minister could give the go-ahead for the project, it would be welcome news. I saw the following headline in The Connacht Tribune last week: "Week of the storms from hell". Naturally, it was referring to the damage done to our coast, which the Minister of State has seen for himself. However, in the case of the people of south Galway it is a good deal more than that. They suffered in 1995, 2009 and again in recent weeks. There is a reference in the newspaper to ten roads and up to ten houses threatened by the heavy rain that has fallen in recent times with the bad weather. One particular farmer, Mattie Hallinan, from Ballinderreen, is a member of the Galway flood project team. He described the situation as serious. He said ten roads were blocked and ten houses were under pressure. He further stated that now is the time to widen or clear the Ballinderreen-Kiltiernan water channel and bring it out to the sea to provide instant relief from flooding in the area. He said the water needs to get to the sea and that the work must start from the sea back.

I realise the Minister of State has been in south Galway. I can think of at least six Ministers who have been in south Galway. Every time hopes have been raised. Perhaps I will tell the Minister of State about some of the things that have happened when I have asked supplementary questions. For the moment, all I can say is that when the Minister of State gets the report from Galway County Council, I hope he looks on it favourably. The Minister of State has been looking at flood mitigation works and coastal protection. However, in this case we are dealing with people who have been waiting for years to have the water drained. We need to widen the channel and get the water out to the sea to relieve the flooding. These people have been cut off from their houses and livestock and they are rather concerned about the next fall of rain in south Galway.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Kitt for raising this important issue. I confirm that I have been in discussions with the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills, Deputy Ciarán Cannon, about this issue for some time. As the Deputy knows, I have visited the area and I have seen the scale of the problem. I suspect one of the reasons my predecessors have also been there and seen the problem is that if we could have found an easy solution, we would have found it some years ago. We are conscious of the issues in the Kiltiernan-Ballinderreen area. In 1995 my Department funded €317,000 towards the cost of the scheme following requests from the flood action group.

Payment was made to the trustees of the group in the period 1995 to 1997. It was a clear condition of the approved funding that responsibility for all aspects of the works, including ongoing maintenance, lay with the group.

Due to the history of flooding in the south Galway area and because of its particular geological features, such as karst limestone, the Office of Public Works commissioned a major flood study of the region in 1997. The study concluded that while a number of engineering solutions would alleviate some of the flooding problems in the area, none of the proposals was economically viable on the basis of a standard cost-benefit analysis. In addition, the environmental impacts of some of the proposals were unacceptable. As such, the OPW could not recommend proceeding with any of the proposals without further investigation.

Following the severe flood event in 2009, a south Galway steering committee comprising representatives of the OPW and Galway County Council, with which the office has a very good working relationship, was established to consider what mitigation works might be carried out in the area. A review of the south Galway flood study report was completed in 2011 and recommended both structural and non-structural proposals. Non-structural measures included planning controls, monitoring of flows at key locations, and refining the calibrations models. Structural proposals included engineering solutions at various locations in the area, including Kiltiernan and Ballinderreen. It was envisaged that if any works suggested by the review were found to be economically viable and environmentally acceptable, they would be taken forward with funding under the OPW's minor flood works scheme.

It is worth noting that under that scheme, approximately €1.5 million has been allocated to date to projects in the south Galway area out of total approved funding of more than €6 million for the whole of Galway city and county. In other words, very substantial funds have been put in place by this and the previous Government in recognition of the scale of the geological problem that exists in the region.

The scheme proposed by the consultants in respect of Kiltiernan-Ballinderreen was considered in detail by the OPW. It was found that it did not meet an essential criterion for funding from the scheme in that the benefit-to-cost ratio was significantly below the minimum threshold. Following appeals by Galway County Council and the Irish Farmers Association, the OPW reviewed the proposals and concluded there was significant doubt regarding the extent of the benefit that would accrue from the works. For example, some roads that were previously subject to flooding had been raised by the council. In addition, the OPW was of the view that due to the unique landscape and geology of the area and its designation as a special area of conservation, the proposals might not be acceptable on environmental grounds. At a meeting of the steering committee in late 2013, Galway County Council agreed to re-examine its position with a view to amending the proposals to address these issues.

I assure the Deputy that if an application for funding for revised flood mitigation proposals is submitted to the OPW, it will be given every consideration, having regard to the eligibility criteria applying to the scheme and the overall resources available to the OPW for flood mitigation measures.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I referred to the letter that was issued by Galway County Council on 20 January indicating that its review of the proposals will be completed in the coming weeks and thereafter submitted to the Office of Public Works for approval and funding. I hope the Minister of State will look favourably on the revised proposals. I will give him a copy of the letter, which is signed by Mr. Liam Gavin, acting director of roads and transportation, marine and general services at the council. It is important to note that this effort by Galway County Council is aimed specifically at ensuring the cost-benefit ratio is raised to a level acceptable to the OPW. Both the council and OPW are working well together and a great deal of good work has been done by both to deal with this problem. However, a great deal remains to be done in south Galway, as became clear at a well attended public meeting last Thursday in Ballinderreen.

The original scheme was constructed by landowners to relieve significant flooding at Kiltiernan national school, where not only the school building was at risk but also nearby houses, land and roads. The flooding was particularly bad in 1994 and 1995. One of the roads that benefited from the work undertaken at that time was the Castle Taylor Road. It became clear during the flooding in 2009, however, that the existing channels were no longer providing optimal benefit. In fact, the protections offered by the original scheme were eroding as the structures deteriorated.

There is an urgent need to maintain and improve the drainage scheme, as identified in the study undertaken by Jennings O'Donovan and in the Arup report. The revised proposals to be submitted by Galway County Council will address the cost-benefit issue. I could talk at length about flooding issues throughout the county of Galway, but I am concentrating on the situation in the southern region because it has caused particular hardship for landowners, householders, schools and farmers. In many instances, for example, animals have been cut off from the rest of the farm. There is enough paperwork in place. It is time now for action.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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As I said, the steering group is in place. A copy of the letter to which the Deputy referred was given to me earlier by the Minister of State, Deputy Ciarán Cannon, who informed me of the very serious concerns among people in the area. If and when we receive an application from Galway County Council under the minor works scheme, it will be considered on the basis of the existing criteria.

As I outlined, a very significant funding envelope, both from this Government and the Government of which Deputy Kitt was a member, has been committed in recent years to south Galway by way of the minor works scheme. That allocation had regard to the particular difficulties arising from the geology of the area. We need a solution that will work. Simply throwing money at the problem in the run-up to one election or another is of no use to residents of the area. It is a pretence of which people should be wary. We need a solution that is hydrologically and economically sound and delivers for people in the area. The promise of delivery is not enough. The very difficult terrain in this part of south Galway makes finding a solution more challenging. I had an opportunity to meet people in the area and I am aware of the effects of the flooding within the community.

We will continue to work with Galway County Council to address the problem. If the revised application meets the criteria and offers an effective solution, I and my colleagues will be to the fore in advancing a positive outcome. The ball is very much in the council's court at this stage and we are awaiting its revised proposals.