Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, for coming to the House. The Minister of State came to Limerick on 1 December 2017 at my invitation. He was very well received. I remember he announced in Castleconnell, when the cameras were there, that he was seeking €1 billion in funding. I am glad that has come to fruition. He announced on the day that Limerick would get €57 million and we might even get a few more million euro if we are good.

I will put the flooding issue in context. We have a particular issue with flooding in Limerick for two reasons. The first is the River Shannon in terms of Ardnacrusha and Parteen Weir, and the height of the water level in Lough Derg. People in Castleconnell are more interested in the weather in Athlone than they are in the weather in Castleconnell because it will determine the height of the water level in Lough Derg and the flow of water down the river. Second, Limerick is a city that is tidal, so we have a tidal issue with the River Shannon. Areas like Montpelier, Castleconnell and Annacotty are affected by the Shannon.

Linking in to Annacotty is the issue of the River Mulcair. We have two rivers, the Shannon and the Mulcair. A good deal of works have already been done in St. Mary's Park in the city, which the Minister of State visited, but we are looking for major works to be done on which I believe the planning and design are under way. We are also looking at areas like Corbally Road, the Mill Road and Richmond Park, which the Minister of State visited, and Clancy Strand and O'Callaghan Strand. The announcement of specific funding of €750,000 for Castleconnell village is very welcome. More recently, the River Mulcair flooded and we had issues both with the Newport River and the River Anner, which flow into the River Mulcair. We had major flooding in Clonsingle, Newport and Ballymackeogh. I had the OPW staff meet with the farmers and residents. They have moved to do a good deal of work, which is to be welcomed. The Minister of State would be fully aware of that. As previous speakers said, when people's homes are flooded it not only affects their homes but their livelihoods. One could not describe the impact it has on people.

The previous speaker mentioned the CFRAM study. When does the Minister of State expect it to be published? He mentioned the speeding up of applications. A big issue we have in Limerick is getting applications to the OPW to get schemes under way. The Minister of State said he would be appointing somebody who would operate specifically in the OPW with Limerick City and County Council to progress these applications. I know discussions are ongoing between the council and the OPW but what is the current position?

The Minister of State's visit to Limerick on 1 December 2017 made an enormous difference to the people on the ground as well as him having been able to put the measures and the funding in place. I know how much it means to people. People referred earlier to the Minister of State's get up and go attitude. He is the first Minister that has come down to our area who has arrived a half an hour early. When we went to Montpelier he had the place scouted before we got there.

When will the CFRAM study be published? How does the Minister of State anticipate the process will work in terms of getting applications in for places such as Montpelier, Castleconnell, for which there is a specific funding of €50,000, and Annacotty village and Mulcair Drive where schemes are needed for people who were flooded? They ended up being very close to the waters of the Mulcair River in recent times. There are the issues along the back of the Corbally Road and the Mill Road. The works at St. Mary's Park will be getting under way. There is also Clancy Strand and O'Callaghan Strand. There are also the areas of Newport, Clonsingle and Ballymackeogh where the OPW will carry out works. The fact that the Minister of State has secured €1 billion in funding and his initial strike on that funding was launched in Castleconnell village in Limerick is symbolic. I welcome the fact that he more than doubled the funding that is available from €430 million to €1 billion. We will very much be looking to assist him in enabling him to spend as much of it as he can in Limerick. I very much welcome the €57 million allocation for Limerick