Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He has been very careful not to put too much of a thumb of blame, so to speak, on Cork County Council, to specify the reason the contractor pulled out or to say why the contract was awarded. As I said, the contract was valued at a sum in excess of ¤7 million. As a previous member of Cork County Council, I am deeply concerned that despite the council having failed to deliver this project in the past 12 to 18 months, a similar situation could recur.

The cheapest is not always the best. I am very concerned that we will have further problems. The most important point is that the ratepayers and ordinary people of Bandon, whose homes are being flooded, are not being informed in an open and transparent manner, as they are entitled to be. The fear, the worry and the misinformation that has sometimes been put abroad must be brought out. There is a commitment that the contract to complete the works will commence in the third quarter of this year. I hope it does because, if it does not, outright war will break out in Bandon, people will not pay their rates and they will start marching. The people of Bandon town and its environs are a very patient bunch. To be honest, they deserve a lot more than they have been getting.

I put a lot of the blame on Cork County Council. While the Minister, Deputy Hogan, is the overseer, it was ludicrous for the council to award a contract, when anyone with a small bit of common sense would have known the contractor could not fulfil the contract for the price given, which was about a third of the overall cost. It does not add up.