Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator O'Donovan for raising this issue. A flood relief scheme for the town of Skibbereen is being advanced by Cork County Council, as the contracting authority, in partnership with the OPW, which is providing the funding. The development and progression of the scheme is being overseen by a steering committee with representatives of the council, the OPW and RPS, the engineering consultants for the scheme. A public exhibition of the preferred scheme proposals took place in April of this year and lasted for four weeks. The main proposals of the scheme include the construction of new walls and embankments along the River Ilen and some of its tributaries in the town, new pumping stations, localised channel regrading and improvements to the local drainage system. Approximately 60 submissions were received from members of the public on the proposed scheme during the exhibition. Some of these submissions raised concerns over the levels of protection to be provided in certain areas, based on past experiences of local people. The OPW and Cork County Council recognise that local knowledge can make a valuable contribution to fine-tuning scheme proposals. Therefore, the consultants undertaking the study were asked to undertake further surveys and analysis to alleviate the concerns raised at the exhibition before a decision could be made regarding the next steps in taking the scheme forward. These surveys have now been completed and some changes have been made to the proposed scheme.

An exhibition report, which will deal in depth with all the issues raised by each submission, is expected to be completed soon. When that report has been received, responses will be issued by the OPW to all parties who made submissions. The OPW, in consultation with the council, will decide on the appropriateness of moving forward with the project as proposed. It is expected that the scheme will be moved to detailed design once the responses are issued. It is envisaged that the detailed design process will commence before the end of November. It is hoped to complete that process, and the process of procuring a civil works contractor, by the middle of next year. This would allow construction to commence in the third quarter of 2014. To mitigate delays on the scheme, the OPW and Cork County Council agreed earlier this year to bring forward the site investigation works in advance of the detailed design process. These works, which commenced in September, are due for completion in December. This will greatly aid the progression of the detailed design.

The OPW's consultants and staff from Cork County Council have been on the ground collecting data from the flood event which occurred on 24 and 25 October. When all the data has been collected, it will need to be analysed. While it is possible that the analysis will identify issues that will necessitate some modification of the proposals, early indications suggest that no significant changes to the scheme will be required. While it is unfortunate for the town to experience this latest flooding event, the data collected should bring some additional certainty regarding the robustness of the proposed scheme that will be undertaken in the coming years. I am pleased to confirm that the OPW has made provision for the cost of implementing a scheme in Skibbereen in its financial profiles for the 2014-16 period. I look forward to the works commencing towards the end of next year. I sympathise with what Senator O'Donovan has said about the hardship this has caused to the people of Skibbereen. As I come from Mallow and also represent Fermoy and Midleton, I am fully cognisant of the flooding issues local people have had to endure in the absence of a flood relief scheme. I assure the Senator that Skibbereen will benefit from the scheme as soon as work on it commences. Mallow has ceased to have instances of flooding, with the exception of the Park Road area, which does not have any residents. These schemes have been quite successful. I look forward to a successful resolution of this issue as well.