Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this Topical Issue matter. While the Government has ring-fenced almost €13 million for flood defences in Skibbereen, many concerns have been raised locally about slippage in the planned schedule of works for the scheme. Last year, an estimated 59 mm of rain fell in the space of six hours between the hours of 6 p.m. on Thursday, 24 October and 2 a.m. on Friday, 25 October. It was a deluge that saw the black tarred roads of Skibbereen flowing like a river. Skibbereen has been inundated with flood waters many times over the years, especially in 2009. After the 2009 flood, which caused devastation to 200 businesses and residences, many people are now without flood cover and have no hope of getting it. Earlier this year, the previous Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, the former Deputy Brian Hayes, visited Skibbereen. I attended a meeting with him with representatives from the locality and other public representatives. The then Minister of State said he realised the personal and economic impact of flooding. He assured locals: "The Government is absolutely committed to protecting the town and, when completed, the scheme will provide 200-year flood event protection to approximately 179 homes and 131 commercial properties."

Since it was first announced that Skibbereen needed a flood relief scheme, the project has been dogged by delay. Each of the phases of the scheme has been affected by a delay of three or four months. Work was originally due to begin in the second half of 2014 and was expected to be completed within 18 months. It was envisaged that the detailed design process would commence before the end of November 2013 and it was hoped to complete it and the process of procuring a civil works contractor around mid-2014. This would have allowed construction to commence in the third quarter of 2014 but this, alas, has not happened.

In reply to a parliamentary question I tabled in September, the Minister of State, Deputy Simon Harris, who is in the House, outlined the current position with regard to the Skibbereen flood relief scheme. He indicated that it was at the stage of procurement of civil works contractors and that contractors would be appointed after a two-stage process. The process was stated to be at the pre-qualification stage which would produce a shortlist of contractors to be invited to tender. The second stage of the process was expected to commence shortly and it was hoped that the OPW would be in a position to appoint contractors early in 2015. As each month passes, people are becoming increasingly frustrated and exceptionally concerned. Each month of slippage allows for more potential flooding, particularly at this time of year, with the consequent expense to residents and businesses. As a flooded community, the people of Skibbereen want the flood relief scheme back on track and work to commence as soon as possible. I accept that there is no quick-fix solution and that it will take time, but we need action and to see construction beginning.

The OPW must take seriously the near constant threat of flooding and the absolute devastation that would be caused in Skibbereen. I would be very grateful to the Minister of State for his personal attention and interest in advancing this flood relief scheme. I note that he is visiting Clonakilty on Monday, 15 December to launch the public consultation phase of the Clonakilty flood relief scheme. I call on him to visit Skibbereen also and meet the group I met recently in my constituency office in Dunmanway. They are between the devil and the deep blue sea, if the Minister of State will excuse the pun. If anything happens in the current climate, it will mean utter devastation. Defence works have not started and people do not have flood cover. It is an horrendous situation and I ask the Minister of State to give it his personal attention.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Michael McCarthy for giving me the opportunity to provide an update to the House by raising this important matter for the people of Skibbereen this evening. I assure him that his request that I give the matter my personal attention is one to which I am happy to accede.

I had an opportunity last Thursday to address the Seanad about flooding and to outline the following. In my five months in this job, I have visited many areas of the country that have been affected by flooding and heard at first hand the experiences of people who have seen their homes, businesses and farms damaged by flood waters. I am very aware of the hardship and, as the Deputy correctly puts it, utter devastation people have suffered because of flooding and appreciate the frustration that people such as the residents of Skibbereen feel at the length of time it takes to get a flood defence scheme in place. I assure the Deputy, the House and the people of Skibbereen at the outset that the Skibbereen scheme is a priority. It is a priority for me, the Government and the Office of Public Works. The preparatory work is being progressed as quickly as possible by Cork County Council working on behalf of and with funding from the OPW with a view to commencing construction as early as possible in 2015.

The council has been working on a proposed scheme since late 2009 when a severe flood event affected the town with more than 200 properties reported to have been flooded. With the assistance of OPW funding, the council appointed consultants in early 2011 to design a scheme to be brought forward for consultation with the public. The main proposals of the scheme include the construction of new walls and embankments along the River Ilen and some of its tributaries in the town, new pumping stations, localised channel regrading and improvements to the local drainage system. There have been many opportunities for the public to engage with the design team, including public information days held in March 2011 and January 2012, and the formal public exhibition over a four-week period in April and May 2013. A large number of submissions, some quite detailed, were made following the exhibition. This level of engagement and input from the local community in the development of a scheme is very important. Some submissions, for example, raised concerns over the levels of protection to be provided in certain areas based on past experiences of local people which led to a review of some aspects of the proposed scheme.

We have very good engineers in the OPW, as they have in Cork County Council, but no matter how good one's engineers are, one cannot beat the knowledge of local people who have experienced flooding themselves. I was very grateful to the people of Skibbereen for their input and the benefits there have been to the proposed scheme as a result. In recognition of the valuable contribution that local knowledge can make to fine-tuning scheme proposals, the OPW and Cork County Council requested the consultants to carry out further surveys and analysis to alleviate the concerns raised at the exhibition before determination of the next steps required to take the scheme forward. Following the completion of an exhibition report, all those who had made submissions were responded to and this resulted in further issues being raised by affected members of the public which had to be dealt with. This level of detailed engagement and consultation with the public is a time-consuming process and adds to the time taken to progress the development of the scheme design. It is, however, a very important part of the process and will ultimately lead to a better and more effective scheme for the people of Skibbereen.

With the assistance of its consultants on the scheme, Cork County Council commenced a procurement process for a civil works contractor to undertake the scheme works earlier this year with a view to having a contractor appointed towards the end of 2014. However, the procurement process has taken longer than anticipated for various reasons and is still ongoing, with the result that the council will not now be in a position to appoint a contractor in 2014. The council expects to be in a position to appoint a contractor early in 2015 with construction expected to take approximately 18 months. I understand the frustration that people feel at the length of time it has taken to bring the Skibbereen scheme to construction. I also understand the very real difficulties they have. I will touch on the insurance issue in my supplementary response, but I assure the Deputy that this is a priority for me. The funding is ring-fenced and the scheme will be delivered. I expect significant progress in early 2015.

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his personal interest in the scheme and his detailed reply. I contacted the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform within the last two weeks, having met the local committee behind the campaign on this very important work. The Minister of State said himself in his reply that detailed design for the scheme was commenced by consultants following the completion of the public exhibition and he indicated that this was practically completed. What is involved here is the Minister of State's Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Cork County Council and the consultants. The report is almost complete and will go to the local authority and then the Department. Can we expedite that process with all due haste? We are heading into the Christmas period and anything that is not worked out before the holidays will inevitably be deferred until January. Can we make absolutely sure that we get the report to the local authority and the Department? I would be very grateful if the process were led at departmental level.

The Minister of State will be in Clonakilty on 15 December and we always welcome that type of proactive approach by Ministers and Ministers of State in coming to an area to see schemes first-hand. It is a very important part of our democracy and I acknowledge it in that context. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State would also do two other things that day.

I ask him to meet members of the Skibbereen flood committee and, if his diary allows, to travel to Skibbereen as his predecessor, the former Minister of State, Mr. Brian Hayes, MEP, did at the start of the year. On that occasion, the then Minister of State gave a commitment in good faith which, for reasons beyond his control, was not realised within the stated timeframe. Having met those affected, I know how important this flood relief work is to them. I urge the Minister of State to look favourably on my two requests and thank him in advance for considering them. I ask that the design be provided forthwith and that he use his visit to the area on 15 December to meet members of the Skibbereen flood committee and, if possible, visit the town. It would be an ideal opportunity to do so.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I will look favourably on both of the Deputy's requests. He can take as a given that I will do everything I can to ensure the report is delivered with haste. I share his frustration and that of people in Skibbereen. The Government wants this flood relief scheme to be delivered and has provided funding to that end. People in Skibbereen now expect it to be delivered, having invested considerable time in providing valuable information that will ensure we will have the best and most effective scheme possible.

I will be delighted to visit Skibbereen and meet people in the town. While I cannot give the Deputy a guarantee that I will be able to do so on 15 December, I guarantee that I will do so in the coming weeks. I will arrange with the Deputy and other Members to meet a delegation from Skibbereen, either in Leinster House or Skibbereen. It would be useful for everyone to come together to make a collective push to get the scheme over the line.

The Deputy also raised the issue of insurance, which is a source of concern for people in Skibbereen and elsewhere. As he noted, my predecessor, the former Minister of State, Mr. Brian Hayes, did a great deal of work in agreeing a memorandum of understanding with the insurance industry. It involves the Office of Public Works sharing with the insurance industry details of the flood relief programme. In return, we expect the industry to factor this information into its commercial decisions. Following publication of the CFRAM programme, we may end up spending €1 billion on flood relief works over two decades. We cannot have the taxpayer spending more than €40 million per annum on flood relief schemes while people are left without insurance. I met representatives of Insurance Ireland today and expect to receive an update in the next week or thereabouts showing what the organisation has done with the information it received under the memorandum of understanding and how many people have been provided with insurance as a result of flood relief schemes. I hope and expect that once the scheme has been delivered in Skibbereen, Insurance Ireland and the insurance industry in general will live up to their side of the bargain. This will require the industry to factor information provided by the OPW into its commercial decisions in a favourable manner. Insurance cover is a great worry for people and addressing the issue is one of my priorities.

I again thank the Deputy for raising the issue and reiterate my commitment to Skibbereen.