Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister, Deputy Foley, is welcome. I am disappointed the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, is not present but I appreciate the Minister, Deputy Foley, being here to answer my question on flood defences in Galway city. I am sure that in every county there are incidents of flooding in towns or rural areas and I am sure the Minister has visited scenes of helplessness either in the aftermath of or during a flood. It is very difficult for residents or businesses that are dealing with a surge of water and wondering when the day will come that it will not happen again.

As all present are aware, climate change and global warming are increasing the unpredictability of storms. Galway suffers from flooding from the River Corrib, high tides, storm surges, wave overlapping and storm water drains. In conjunction with Galway City Council, the Office of Public Works has funded studies under the catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, programme, relating to mapping exercises of the area. The previous Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Kevin Boxer Moran, announced an allocation of more than €9 million for flood defences. Since then, Arup consultant engineers have been appointed to progress the project and further the identification and development of a preferred scheme. We were told that will take approximately 24 months, which will bring us up to the end of 2023. Planning and development consent will take approximately 18 months, which will bring us up to early 2025, while detailed construction, design and tender will take approximately eight months, bringing us to early 2026. Construction will take up to 36 months, which will overlap with the handover of works that will take approximately 15 months. That will bring us up to the end of 2029 before the works in Galway city will be completed. With the way things are, one could add another year or two to that, depending on processes.

Realistically, can anything be done to speed up that project? There are important requirements under the public spending code, but is there anything that the city council or the Arup consultants can do to speed up that process? Taking, effectively, the guts of a decade before flood defences will be in place in Galway city is too long. I refer to processes around the country. I note the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, has expressed his frustration at the processes and the delays, whether due to planning, judicial review or anything else. In the meantime, the city of Galway is at the mercy of water and the unpredictability of storms. The impact that has on residents and businesses is so distressing and frustrating. I look forward to the reply of the Minister on behalf of the Office of Public Works. Realistically, is there anything that can be done to speed up the process?