Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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4. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an update on the flood relief scheme in Bantry, County Cork. [2543/22]

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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As the Minister of State will be aware after his recent visit to Bantry following the flooding there in December, it continues to be an ever-present risk for businesses and homes. The town has been flooded four times in the last 18 months. Will the Minister of State provide an update on the scheme and outline the interim defences that will be made available?

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I visited Bantry following the recent flood events, including last month after the flooding of 28 properties during Storm Barra. I have seen at first hand the devastation that flooding has caused to homeowners, businesses and the wider Bantry community. The flood risk management plan launched in May 2018 included a recommendation to progress the design, planning and construction of a flood relief scheme for Bantry. A steering group, comprising representatives from the Office of Public Works, OPW, and Cork County Council, is in place and is progressing this flood relief scheme to protect some 198 properties.

During 2021, Cork County Council, in partnership with the OPW, issued the tender documentation for the procurement of engineering and environmental consultants to design a viable scheme for the town. An assessment of all tenders has been completed by Cork County Council and I expect that consultants will be appointed in the coming weeks. Once appointed, consultation with statutory and non-statutory bodies, as well as with the wider public, will take place at the appropriate stages to ensure that all parties have the opportunity provide input into the development of this important scheme for the town. In the meantime, Cork County Council has engaged a contractor to treat some of the invasive species in preparation for the flood relief scheme. The Bantry flood relief scheme is being funded by the Department from the overall €1.3 billion for flood risk management allocated by the Government under the national development plan to 2030.

In tandem with progressing this scheme, Cork County Council is preparing the consultants' brief, which is expected to be issued in the first quarter this year, to carry out the repair and reconstruction of the culvert that runs under Main Street in the town. This culvert has been identified as a significant element contributing to flooding on Main Street, New Street and north and south of Wolfe Tone Square in recent months. The OPW and Cork County Council are liaising on the integration of these works with the flood relief scheme for the town.

In 2021, my office and the OPW approved some €180,000 under the minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme for interim works to mitigate flooding in Bantry, including the installation of non-return valves and the provision of mobile pumps. The council has now identified a preferred contractor for these works and insurances are currently being finalised to confirm their appointment.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State for the update and his recent visit to the town. Progress on this scheme is always welcome. The Minister of State, though, will also appreciate that residents and proprietors are anxious to know when they will start to see physical work starting on the ground. All flood events can have a large impact on households and businesses, including through damage to structures and destroyed stocks. The social effect can also be very demoralising for communities. The risk of repeated flooding only increases these negative results. Bantry is an amazing town, with a thriving commercial and tourism sector. The Friday market attracts people from all over west Cork and beyond. The flood relief scheme will therefore bring much-needed certainty that will see the town go from strength to strength.

As we all know from the flooding in December, the remedial flood relief works carried out by Cork County Council did prevent further flooding in parts of Bantry. Additional funding for further remedial measures would therefore make a great difference. It would be great to get a timeline for when these things will take place.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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There are two elements to this scheme. One concerns the culvert running through the centre of the town and the other is the flooding that happens from the harbour, which is part of the wider Bantry flood relief scheme. It is evident from meetings involving officials of Cork County Council and the OPW that the council is progressing the design of the culvert element via its own engineering section and consultative support. We will assist the council in that undertaking. Regarding the other element of the wider flood relief scheme, the formal process is being initiated in the first quarter of this year. We hope that will happen in the next fortnight or three weeks, once we get the statutory process started.

I met local representatives and some of the local community just before Christmas. They came out on the square on the day and it was evident that they understand that this work is part of a planning process. We cannot make it go any faster than it can because we are tied in a process. As to do anything that would subvert or usurp that process would land us in trouble, I cannot do anything that will interfere with it in any way.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State for that information. Bantry is just one of several towns in west Cork with work in progress on flood defences. The Minister of State recently marked the completion of the Clonakilty scheme. It is fantastic and is already making a big difference to the community there. In responding to my parliamentary questions, though, the Minister of State noted that both the Skibbereen and Bandon schemes are "substantially completed", rather than completed. As this distinction has a major impact on homes and businesses when it comes to things like seeking insurance and mortgages, when will the Minister of State be coming to Skibbereen and Bandon to officially mark the completion of those schemes, as well as the one in Clonakilty?

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The Clonakilty scheme is completed and has been handed over to Cork County Council, while the schemes in Skibbereen and Bandon have more or less been completed as well. The true test of the pudding is in the eating, though. As someone who knows Bandon intimately, being able to say that the town did not flood during Storm Barra, and that my brother's pub did not flood, unlike in almost every previous flooding event, shows that the investment by the OPW, through Cork County Council, was a good undertaking in the context of addressing the scourge of flooding in Bandon, as well as in Skibbereen and Clonakilty. Hopefully, we will be able to get the scheme in Bantry up and running now as well. I pay tribute to the volunteers, the outside staff of Cork County Council, our own outside staff and the local communities, which have been very resilient. That has been the case not only in the west Cork towns, but in all the other towns that have also experienced the scourge of flooding. We want to get on with this process, but it will only be as good as the local representatives, who we hope will row in behind these endeavours. Obviously, we hope that it will not get bogged down in delays. We want to try to do for Bantry what we have done for Bandon, Clonakilty, Skibbereen and the other Cork towns as well.