David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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59. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to outline the progress made to date with respect to the Midleton flood relief scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15631/24]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I wish the Minister of State well in his new role. Will he outline what progress has been made to date with respect to the Midleton flood relief scheme and make a statement on the matter? I understand the scheme has five stages. Serious work began on this scheme nine years ago in 2015. I also understand two avenues of planning are available. Will the Minister of State tell me what has been happening up to now?

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. I know the commitment he has to Midleton and to this project.

I am aware of the devastation caused by flooding to communities and the significant impact on people, families, businesses and communities. As the Deputy said, I visited Midleton in my previous role as Minister of State with responsibility for local government. I intend to visit again shortly in my current role as Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW. I saw the devastation first-hand with the Deputy. Along with Councillor Susan McCarthy, we did a thorough tour of the place and met people.

The catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, programme provided the Government with the evidence necessary to launch a national programme of 150 additional flood relief schemes in 2018. Major flooding in December 2015 and again in January 2016 were the catalysts to commence work on the design of a flood relief scheme for Midleton before the conclusion of the CFRAM programme, as the Deputy so rightly said, a number of years ago. Cork County Council is leading the delivery of the scheme and in 2017 appointed engineering and environmental consultants. Midleton has proven to be one of the most complex schemes. It has flood risks from four sources: fluvial, tidal, groundwater and pluvial.

The preferred scheme has now been identified with an estimated budget of €50 million, which is three times the estimated budget in 2017. This highlights the scale of the project’s increase in scope. It also highlights that we have designed a scheme that is robust, supported by strong evidence that has the support of the local community, and is future-proofed through being adaptable to climate change scenarios. The preferred option protects 580 properties and can give back flood insurance to the town, which we found out many did not have when we met them on the ground. Following Storm Babet, an assessment of the proposed scheme is being completed, so we can have confidence that we have designed a scheme that can meet the standard of protection required by the insurance industry. The next major step is to seek planning consent. Work is ongoing on the development of the planning design for the scheme.

An assessment of additional works, which could be delivered in advance of the main scheme, is ongoing. A report is being finalised with recommendations for interim and advance works to mitigate against flooding in Midleton. This will be made available to the public when it is completed, which I expect will be very shortly. It should be noted that detailed hydraulic assessment of any scheme is required to ensure it is in compliance with the relevant statutory and regulatory frameworks.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response and for his interest to date in visiting the town and surrounding area in his former role. He viewed first-hand the utter devastation that occurred. We were very lucky that no one drowned. If this flooding happened at night-time or the tide had been in, it would have very serious indeed.

Will the Minister of State give some information on when he expects planning permission to be lodged? People would take some comfort if they knew that the second stage of the process was about to happen. I understand an environmental impact assessment, EIA. is also required. Will the Minister of State let me know, now or later, where that is at? Will it serve to delay things further? Will the Minister of State meet, as a matter of urgency, senior officials in Cork County Council, along with his officials in the OPW, to scope this out and drive it forward? There is a sense of a lack of urgency about this matter now. I have raised it almost every week since the floods following Storm Babet almost six months ago.

The people involved need progress. When it rains, people are afraid to go to sleep. It is that serious.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I commit to meeting with the Cork County Council engineers and to going down to Midleton to meet the people of Midleton along with the Deputy and others.

The Deputy referred to the planning side. Following Storm Babet, an assessment of the proposed scheme is under way and involves remodelling to test storm events against preferred options that were identified ahead of Storm Babet. Results show we can be confident we have designed a scheme that can meet the standard of protection. The next steps are to finalise the detailed scheme design and seek planning consent. Work is ongoing on development of planning and design for the scheme. Work on stage 2 with some environmental services, including bats and birds, got under way this winter. Discussions will involve operators of critical infrastructure and landowners whose lands will be needed as part of the scheme. The OPW and Cork County Council have also advanced their consideration of the best route for consent. The decision is due shortly.

There are two main options for planning consent: Part 10 and the Arterial Drainage Act 1945. The potential impact on the programme and delivery of the scheme under each option is being considered before a decision on the form of consent to be adopted. The decision will inform the agreement with some 80 landowners whose lands are required to construct and further the scheme. We will have a final decision over the coming weeks.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response and am pleased to hear a decision regarding the planning option will be made in the coming weeks. This is an enormous scheme involving more than 80 landowners, costing more than €50 million and counting. The cost to the people, businesses and homes is much more, emotionally as well. When that happens, your home or business is destroyed and everything you have is gone. Some people could not get insurance. Some were underinsured, which I ask the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, to look at. They were insured to a certain level but the devastation went way beyond that and they were not eligible for the Red Cross funding, which is another issue.

I ask the Minister of State and his officials to meet with council officials as soon as possible and drive on the planning application so it is lodged, giving people some comfort, and to do all he can to get this thing moving. We are worried in case there are challenges to it and it could take forever in the courts. It would be devastating if this happened again.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The estimated time for application for consent between the two is not significantly different. We cannot speed up the process so that is why we need interim measures. We will be looking at some time towards 2025-2026. The decision on the planning consent must consider the risk of additional challenges to the route. That is something I will take up with the officials and that is why it is so important we take these interim measures now.

On the insurance side, the Deputy is well aware the insurance industry cannot rely on the CFRAM maps but the industry has agreed and there is ongoing engagement between the Department of Finance and the industry that the latter will consider, as part of its overall assessment, further flood relief measures that are put in place. I hope to go down there shortly and follow up.