David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the office of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for selecting this Topical Issue today. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, for being here. It has been four weeks now since Storm Babet hit east Cork and Midleton. We have all seen the devastation that was caused, and we have all seen the pictures from the town. We are extraordinarily lucky that nobody died. Some people were washed away during that storm. Many people had their livelihoods and homes destroyed. It will take a long time to pick up the pieces.

There is a concern that this might happen again. One of the issues that local people who have lived in the area all their lives have brought to my attention is the need to dredge the local rivers. I am not sure if it would have made a massive impact on the day, given that there were reports of 130 mm of rainfall in 24 hours. The River Owenacurra has not been dredged in my memory. It is all silted up, it is narrow in places and it cannot take the water that flows into it from the hills around it. I know there are concerns about it. I understand that councillors are doing some work on interim measures to be put in place before the major flood relief scheme gets under way. That scheme has to be done as well and it has to be moved on very quickly. It has been planned since 2015. A huge amount of work has been done, but we need to see action on the ground. In the interim, locals tell me that dredging the river would help to prevent flooding in Midleton. I appreciate that some people have concerns about dredging, but it has to be done. The Minister of State may want to visit the river at some stage. The Minister of State, Deputy O’Donovan, visited, as did the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister of State, Deputy O’Donnell. They were all down to visit very soon after the impact. The rivers really need to be dredged. As I said, they have not been dredged for years. A decision has to be taken very soon because there is a concern that this might happen again.

I am told that Castlemartyr, a village halfway between Midleton and Youghal, is in the second tranche of the Office of Public Works, OPW, flood risk management programme. However, the second tranche has not been approved for funding to date. I am told that a minor application was submitted to the OPW in 2018 for river cleaning works upstream and downstream of Castlemartyr bridge. However, the OPW indicated that the application would not be successful for funding at that time. That is a shame because if the river had been dredged then, a lot of flooding may not have happened in Castlemartyr in the recent past and indeed in the intervening period. When I walked the bank of the river last week, I could see the need for dredging. It is very obvious. There is also the need to raise up the riverbanks on each side and build walls and flood defences there too. I understand that the council may submit another application for funding in light of what happened on 18 October. I urge the OPW to make funding available now to allow the River Kiltha in Castlemartyr to be dredged and also for the River Owenacurra in Midleton. There are other rivers in the area that need that kind of attention. The River Womanagh, which goes through Ladysbridge and Ballymacoda, needs attention. We have waited long enough now. Funding is the issue here. Let us get it done and let us prepare in order to prevent the flooding and the devastation that we have seen from occurring again.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Stanton for raising the important matter of the dredging of River Owenacurra in Midleton and the River Kiltha in Castlemartyr in light of recent flooding in east Cork. Flooding has a devastating impact on homes, businesses, people and entire communities. The causes, extent and impacts of flooding are varied and complex. This has been witnessed recently by the community of Midleton during Storm Babet and more recently in County Galway during Storm Debi.

The catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, programme, the largest study of flood risk, was completed by the OPW in 2018. It studied the flood risk for two thirds of the population against their risk of flooding from rivers and the sea. The outputs from this study were the flood risk management plans. These 2018 plans are providing the evidence for a proactive approach for designing and constructing flood relief schemes for the most at-risk communities. Cork County Council is leading the design of the Midleton flood relief scheme. In 2017 it appointed engineering and environmental consultants. Major flood relief schemes involve complex engineering and construction operations that can impact people's living, built and natural environments. The process follows a number of stages from feasibility through design, planning, detailed design and construction. It is important that the work is done correctly and achieves its objectives. Extensive and detailed technical analysis is required to establish the most appropriate solution, technically and environmentally, from a range of possible mitigation options. The solution has also to be adaptable to the increased risk from climate change.

When all possible options to manage the flood risk at Midleton were examined, one of the options included the dredging of River Owenacurra. The engineering analysis of this option highlighted how the dredging of the bed of the River Owenacurra is not technically viable in the tidally dominated reach. This is because the maximum water level of the tide will still be reached regardless of how much the elevation of the bed may be reduced by dredging. However, the engineering analysis did highlight how dredging in the fluvially dominated reach is deemed viable but only in combination with other flood mitigation measures. This dredging option has been brought forward to the optioneering stage for this scheme design. On its own, dredging in the fluvially dominated reach is not considered viable as it would have significant negative environmental impacts and would require extensive underpinning of the existing bridges.

In relation to Castlemartyr, Midleton is just one of some 100 flood relief schemes that are at design and construction stages at this time. This is a threefold increase since 2018 and is supported by €1.3 billion for flood relief measures through the national development plan. It is not possible to progress all 150 flood relief schemes identified by the flood risk management plans due to the constraint of the availability of the professional and specialised engineering skills that are required to design and construct flood relief schemes. While the prioritised approach to delivering schemes means that work is complete or under way to protect 80% of all at-risk properties nationally, the flood relief project for Castlemartyr is not in the first phase of projects being progressed nationally. However, the funding for this scheme is available. The OPW is currently trialling a new delivery model towards a more efficient means of delivering all 50 schemes in the second tranche of schemes. The proposed flood relief scheme at Castlemartyr consists of the diversion of River Kiltha around the town via an existing bypass channel through the grounds of the hotel and the construction of flood walls to protect vulnerable properties at the confluence of the River Kiltha and the bypass channel. Once consultants are appointed to progress this scheme, consultation with statutory and non-statutory bodies as well as with the general public will take place at the appropriate stages to ensure that all parties have the opportunity to make an input into the development of the scheme.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State and the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy O'Donovan, for this response. There is some new and very interesting information in there. The harbour at Ballinacurra near Midleton was navigated by tall ships up until not that long ago, but now it is all silted up. The local people on the ground tell me dredging of the river is important and would make a big difference. The engineers, as the Minister of State said, do not really agree with all that, but I will take this away and study it and maybe come back at a later time.

On Castlemartyr, the council looked for funding to do some dredging there around the bridge in 2018, but that money was not available at the time. I ask the Minister of State to look at that again to see whether the funding can be made available now to get that work done. Diverting the Kiltha River is something I have not heard of before. It is an interesting idea and would certainly solve a lot of problems, if it can be done. However, I am concerned about the time involved. Given that we are talking about the appointment of consultants, consultation with statutory bodies, public consultation and so on, it could be years before anything happens. It is important, given what we experienced just four weeks ago, that this work be progressed much faster than is envisaged in what the Minister of State has said. There is huge concern this could happen again. We have heard reports from the Met Office that the Gulf Stream is positioned such that it is going to be diverting and directing many more storms our way. We certainly do not want to see that sort of flooding happen again. I put it to the Minister of State and the OPW that emergency works are needed. We really need to get people on the ground now to get some works done and prevent this happening. As the Minister of State put it so well at the start of his reply, this must be done so homes and businesses are not devastated again. We must do all we can in the interim to prevent that. Dredging of the rivers and raising the banks can have a big impact. I put it to the Minister of State that we need to get this done sooner rather than later. There is a long winter ahead of us yet.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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It is open to Cork County Council to apply for funding under the OPW minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme to provide mitigation measures for Castlemartyr ahead of the main scheme. Under this scheme, applications are considered for projects that are estimated to cost not more than €750,000. Funding from the OPW is up to 90% of the cost of available approved projects and applications are assessed by the OPW, having regard to the specific economic, social and environmental criteria of this scheme, including the benefit-to-cost ratio and the availability of funding for flood risk management. I have heard the Deputy's concerns and will bring them to the attention of the Minister of State.