Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Simon Harris.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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I know the Minister of State has a very busy schedule and I thank him for taking the time to deal with this important matter. Cork has had major flooding on a number of occasions. The most recent flooding was extremely severe. The Office of Public Works drew up plans following detailed consultation in July 2014. It is important that we are given an outline of the intended work and its timeframe. It is unfortunate that this work was not undertaken many years ago because Cork has been subjected to severe flooding on a number of occasions in the past 20 years. Therefore, this matter deserves immediate priority.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Burke for raising this matter and for giving me the opportunity to provide some updated information to the House on our plans for Cork city. I thank Senator Burke for pursuing this matter with me on several other occasions over the past year.

Work on developing a flood relief scheme for Cork city has been underway for some time. The scheme covers the area from Inniscarra dam to downstream of the city on the River Lee and it will also include proposals for Blackpool and Ballyvolane which are affected by tributaries of the River Lee.

The scheme is being progressed under the provisions of the Arterial Drainage Acts. A number of public information days on the scheme have already been held. Under the statutory provisions, a four to six week consultation period will take place through a formal public exhibition which is planned to commence in the third quarter of this year. On a number of days members of the design team will be in attendance to deal directly with members of the public. These events will be widely advertised in the Cork media.

At that stage, the outline design of the proposed scheme will have been completed and will be displayed with full drawings to ascertain the views of the public and other stakeholders. Significant consultation is expected to take place with interested parties at this stage. All submissions made during the exhibition period will be fully considered in the following months and any amendments arising from such submissions will be incorporated, as appropriate, in the detailed design stage of the scheme. It is very important for us to consult with the local business community and the residents so that we implement the correct scheme which will be acceptable to the business-owners and to the residents of Cork.

Subject to the proposed scheme being accepted by the people of Cork and the statutory bodies which will be consulted during the exhibition stage, the detailed design of the scheme will be commenced. During this stage, the procurement of a civil works contractor will also be commenced. Once the detailed design is complete, the scheme will be submitted to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform for confirmation as required by the Arterial Drainage Acts. This approval process requires an independent review of the environmental impact statement before the Minister can approve the scheme.

If and when the scheme is confirmed it would be the intention of the OPW to appoint a civil works contractor and to commence construction in mid-2016. Due to the likely scale of the proposed scheme, it is possible that the scheme will be undertaken on a phased basis under a number of contracts. This will be a very significant scheme with commensurate costs and it is anticipated that the works will take at least four to five years to complete.

The scheme is a complex one as it involves the use of a flood warning system and the optimisation of dam discharges so it is hugely important that all the necessary technical analysis is carried out thoroughly before the outline design of the scheme is finished. This work is very detailed and the necessary time must be given to allow it to be completed properly.

The estimated cost of the scheme is currently being assessed in the context of the preparation of a cost-benefit analysis to be completed prior to public exhibition. The Government is, however, committed to providing the necessary funding to carry out the works. I reiterate that funding commitment today.

The Government remains fully committed to the provision of a flood relief scheme for the people of Cork city and the OPW has made provision for the cost of implementing the scheme in its multi-annual budget profiles.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State. I note he referred to the third quarter of 2015. I ask that work would commence in the very early part of the third quarter because this matter should be progressed as early as possible. The ESB has implemented flood control measures in Inniscarra and Carrigadrohid dams and this is welcome. The local authority has a warning system in place.We have a lot of work to do, as the Minister of State outlined. It will take four to five years. Therefore, it is highly important that the work commence at the earliest possible date. It would be helpful to have a consultation in the early part of the third quarter in terms of moving on and making sure that we set clear targets in order that the work will start in mid-2016. I again thank the Minister of State for his very comprehensive reply.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Senator Burke can be absolutely assured that the OPW will do all it can to expedite and progress the capital flood relief works with minimum delay within the resources available to it. The Senator and I had an opportunity to meet with representatives of the business community when I visited Cork earlier this year. We had a very good engagement and I was left in absolutely no doubt of the importance of the scheme to the people of Cork, the business owners of Cork and the local economy. We are very eager that the scheme be in place. The funding is in place, which is the crucial message I wish to get out today. The Government is fully committed to funding the scheme, and the OPW has included it in its multi-annual budgets.

I have already outlined that the scheme is likely to be phased. It is likely that the Blackpool part of the scheme will be implemented as a separate scheme, even though we may exhibit it along with the Cork city scheme. No decision has been taken on the phased nature of the main city scheme, but it is unlikely to be undertaken in one contract. It will probably be broken into a number of contracts. Ballyvolane will probably be advanced by the local authority with funding from my office under the minor works scheme.

I know this scheme is absolutely vital. I am very eager to ensure that it will get under way as quickly as possible. I want to see the works commence in mid-2016, but I also want to make sure we get the best scheme possible, that we get all the technical analysis right and that there is adequate consultation with the business owners, who, rightly, have very strong views and have done a lot of work on the issue, and with the public. I look forward to the public exhibition getting under way as quickly as possible within the third quarter.