Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to take this matter.

The people of Bandon are devastated that SIAC has walked away from the main drainage and sewerage scheme in the town. Even though there was major disruption in the town during these works, very little of the contract was executed. I wonder when a new contractor will come to take SIAC's place. When the consultants who had been appointed decided to pull out of Ireland, a short time after the appointment of SIAC, it meant that SIAC had to deal directly with Cork County Council. It appears that severe difficulties came to the surface within weeks of this development. The main drainage and sewerage scheme is under the auspices of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. The imparting of funds to Cork County Council means it is now in charge of the project. Consequently, I ask the Minister to take charge of the contract and this operation.

Since 2009, the people of Bandon had been lobbying strongly for interim gravel removal to take place during the summer months outside the fisheries embargo, that is, from 1 May to 30 September each year. The businesses and residents of Bandon are convinced that this approach has been of assistance during times of heavy rainfall. There have been seven serious incidents in recent years, in addition to the major flooding that occurred on 19 November 2009, when over 250 commercial premises and private houses were flooded. In some instances, the water level rose to between 2 m and 2.5 m.

The main overall factor is that Bandon has been shamefully neglected for over 30 years. This applies to previous Governments also. The town allocates plenty of money to Cork County Council in rates, but it has very little to show for it. Some important questions need to be posed. Why did Cork County Council award a ¤7.5 million project to a ¤2.5 million bidder? It sounds ludicrous and ridiculous. We understand it was subcontracted again. Why was that done? It might have been the lowest tender, but the Minister of State knows that alarm bells would ring straight away if a project in his territory which had been costed at ¤8 million was put out to tender at ¤3 million. That is what happened in this case.

Cork County Council was dealing with the contractors after they had moved in. When they realised within a few weeks that they could not make a go of it, they pulled out. The scheme has been knocked back for several months as a result. It is possible that the delay will extend to well over one year. How is it possible for the collapse of a scheme that was being publicly funded and is of such importance for the town - local people have been waiting for it since 1992 - to be a matter of such secrecy? Nobody has answers. The local town council is doing its best. Officials at managerial and senior engineering levels in Cork County Council have gone silent when questions have been raised about what has gone wrong. A public inquiry of some sort within Cork County Council is almost warranted to see what has gone wrong.

Obviously, it did not help matters when a huge amount of interference, in the form of major stoppages and delays, was caused by the archaeological department. At one stage, this separate department advocated putting a kink in a pipe to place it under the Bandon wall, rather than through the wall, as other service providers have done. I refer to an area under the road near Allen Square. We all appreciate the significance and importance of the past and the heritage of Bandon town, but it seems to have been forgotten that Bandon is fighting for its very survival. Some businesses are barely hanging on by the skin of their teeth.

When I visited the town in recent weeks, I met some members of the flood committee, all of whom are volunteers. The people in question cross all political divides. My colleagues in other parties are fighting hard for this project also. The flood committee has been on high alert, sometimes until 3 a.m. or 4 a.m., as its members have waited to see whether the water level on the River Bandon will subside. It sometimes reaches the level of the footpath. In one case, all of the items in a shop have to be shifted from 1.5 m down in case the premises floods and items are lost again.

The other big factor is that most of these properties will not get insurance. I know the Minister of State is here to deal with the sewerage scheme. The flood relief programme should be allied to this scheme. I often wonder why there is no joined-up thinking. I met the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy Brian Hayes, when he visited the area in connection with another project a few months ago. They are being undertaken in tandem, but there is no joined-up thinking. They should work together. Overall, it will probably take three or four years before this job is completed. It is absolutely ridiculous. Somebody should put the squeeze on Cork County Council - I know the Minister of State will probably not do so - to find out what went wrong.

Why was the contract awarded in this manner? Why is there such a big delay? It is not fair that the people of Bandon should have to suffer and worry this year and probably next year also. We have very high flood levels and an increasing amount of water is falling. There is deep concern and worry. I met someone about two weeks ago who told me that many people could not sleep when there was a flood alert. They stay awake all night until they know the flood waters have subsided. It is an ongoing worry. The problem was probably not as acute 20 years ago. These schemes have become more important as rainfall levels have increased.

I hope the Minister of State will have some positive news for me and I am not in any way trying to throw nasty aspersions at him. I am just saying something went radically wrong in this case. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, or somebody else should get a handle on it. I think the Minister is in charge of Cork County Council and answers should be given to the people in Bandon who are not getting the answers they require. They are being left in the dark. They are being drip-fed information on a need-to-know basis, which is not good enough. There should be an overall plan. The people of Bandon deserve more than they have been getting for the past few years.