Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Independent)
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I support the points raised by Deputy McNamara. Farmers are suffering due to the beef prices. Hopefully, the Department will put in place a scheme that can assist them in ascertaining what the market demands.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting my topic and the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, for coming to the House despite a very busy schedule. I wish him well in the election. I sincerely hope he is elected and that Europe's gain is this House's loss.

The flood relief scheme in Arklow is the topic under debate. It is more than ten years since I sat with Oireachtas Members and members of Arklow Town Council following the floods in the early part of the last decade. The then Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Mr. Martin Cullen, committed that if a scheme could be devised which could prevent flooding in the future, the funding would be provided for it. We struggled on for a long number of years under the illusion that something was being done. Several reports were done on the issue but nothing happened.

Following the change in Government in 2011 and inquiring from the Minister's office as to what the situation was, I was dismayed to find that the file was lying in a cupboard and very little had been done. I acknowledge the work the Minister has done over the past couple of years in providing funding to consultants to devise a scheme for Arklow which would prevent flooding, in particular in the lower part of the town, the Ferrybank area and the Sea Road where the Avoca River meets the Irish Sea. Much preparatory work has been carried out and my understanding is that all reports are complete.

In 2012, €42,000 was granted by the Department to build a flood protection wall along the edge of the Avoca River in the town and a small amount of money - €5,000 to €6,000 - was given to clear out the river. Is the funding available for the scheme? When will it be provided? When can the council start to put the process in place? This is very important. The people of Arklow have waited several political generations, or 30 years to 40 years, for this funding. Will the Minister of State outline when that funding will be provided?

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Timmins for giving me the opportunity to address this matter. I know he has taken a particular interest in the issue over many years.

A flood relief scheme for the town of Arklow is being advanced by Arklow Town Council in partnership with the Office of Public Works and my Department, which is providing the funding. The project is being overseen by a steering group which comprises representatives of Arklow Town Council, the council's consultants and the OPW. The scheme is moving through all the required stages of design and development and has progressed to a stage where a feasibility report is nearing finalisation following detailed consultations between Arklow Town Council, the council's engineering consultants and the OPW.

As the Deputy might be aware, I met with a delegation from Arklow Town Council in regard to the proposed scheme in November 2013 and I indicated at that meeting that there is an absolute commitment on all sides to progress and complete a flood relief scheme for Arklow to ensure that the people and businesses of the town are protected from the terrible flooding that devastated the town in previous years. I want to restate that commitment to the House and to Deputy Timmins again today and to confirm that, on the basis that a viable, cost beneficial scheme is proposed to the OPW, then funding for this will be made available as required. The Arklow scheme is provided for in the OPW's multi-annual capital expenditure profiles.

As the Deputy said, the Arklow scheme has been a long time in preparation and I can understand the local frustration over the length of time it has taken to get to a point of construction. It is, however, in the nature of flood defence schemes which involve complex civil engineering works within a river environment in an urban setting that the amount of planning and preparation required is necessarily very detailed and takes a long time to complete. I might mention in this context, however, that the OPW provided funding to Wicklow County Council in 2012 under the minor flood mitigation works scheme to carry out interim flood relief works in Arklow. These works, comprising the construction of a new flood protection wall, have been completed and offer protection to properties and businesses in the Riverwalk-town centre area of the town.

As I mentioned earlier, a feasibility study to identify possible flood mitigation measures for Arklow town in nearing completion. This Study was commissioned by Arklow Town Council but funded by the OPW. In addition, environmental consultants were appointed by the OPW to carry out an environmental impact statement and to work in tandem with the engineering consultants in identifying environmentally acceptable measures.

It was also necessary to commission separate surveys of the quay walls and an assessment report on Arklow Bridge when it became evident that a number of potential flood alleviation measures might impact on the bridge. All of these assessments have now been brought together in a draft final feasibility report on the scheme by Arklow Town Council's consultants. The purpose of the report is to identify and assess using technical, environmental and economic criteria the viability of a range of flood relief measures for Arklow. Based on this assessment, the report is to identify and recommend a preferred flood relief scheme and to prepare an outline design of the recommended scheme.

The OPW has been engaged over the past year or two in extensive consultation and discussions with our colleagues in Arklow Town Council and the consultants. The latest draft of the feasibility report was submitted by Arklow Town Council to the OPW in late 2013. The report has been examined in detail within the OPW and the OPW has very recently written to Arklow Town Council seeking clarification on a number of mainly technical issues. I am confident that any remaining issues can be resolved without undue delay and that Arklow Town Council will be in a position to finalise the feasibility report for the scheme shortly. When the report is finalised, and provided the preferred scheme is economically and environmentally viable, the OPW and Arklow Town Council, in conjunction with Wicklow County Council, will decide on the most effective means of progressing the project through the next stages of detailed design, planning and statutory consents and procurement of a works contractor. Pending that, it is not possible to give a definite date or timescale. However, I assure the Deputy that the OPW will work constructively with the local authority to ensure the scheme is progressed as quickly as possible.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. It is ironic that we are talking about flood relief in Arklow when there has been a dramatic shortage of water in the greater north Wicklow area – Greystones, Enniskerry and Kilmacanogue - in recent days. The area is supplied by the Vartry river, which also supplies a large part of Dublin city. Ironically, Dublin city has not suffered but Wicklow has. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, to pass on to his colleague the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government my concerns on water shortages in north Wicklow and the ongoing problems with the reservoir, and to liaise with Irish Water to ensure the shortages are resolved.

I would have liked to hear a definitive start date. I note that the Minister for Finance is present in the Chamber. I am sure he will have no difficulty providing the funding to the Minister of State shortly as, hopefully, a going-away present, so that he can make an announcement in the coming weeks. I note the provision for the scheme in the capital profile of the Department. A feasibility study has been completed; it has gone back to the OPW and it is currently with Arklow Town Council. The Minister of State indicated in his response that he could not provide a timeframe, but could he take a stab at doing so? Could he also indicate whether the outstanding technical issues are major or minor?

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I will take the last question first. We are at a very advanced stage with the feasibility report. We have gone back to Arklow Town Council for a number of observations and I expect the issue to be resolved by the summer. Once the report is back with us we will know the preferred design and the cost-benefit ratio, which will clearly be strong, given that 600 properties are involved, of which 450 are houses and the rest are commercial premises. Once we have the report back I am very confident that the OPW will be able to profile the work as part of its multi-annual plan. One of the benefits of having a multi-annual envelope of funds available for this and other schemes is that we can get going on it in a relatively short time, because I understand the work will take years, with a lot of disruption to the town and the community. We must undergo a planning process and a design process and we need the public to buy into it, because it will cause disruption to the commercial life of the town, as is the case in many parts of the country I visited recently, such as Fermoy and Mitchelstown. It takes time to develop a scheme in all of those areas. I reassure the Deputy that we are very aware of the importance of the scheme for Arklow and County Wicklow. It is a priority for us and we have funds in place as part of the existing multi-annual financial framework. As soon as we get the feasibility issues over the line, especially on the cost-benefit side, we can then get going on the design, planning and consultation stages with the community.

I reassure Deputy Timmins that the funds are very much in place for the scheme. It is a major priority for us. We have a huge responsibility to the local area, which has been dramatically affected in the past two decades on more than six different occasions. The life of the town has been badly affected by flood and storm damage. The complication in this case is due to there being a problem with the sea and with the river. A fluvial event with the sea coming in could mean a disaster for the town. Providing a solution is hydrologically complex and we must get it right before we commit the funds, but I assure the Deputy that the funding is in place.