Lorraine Higgins (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister of State. This is the first time I have had the opportunity to address him since he took office, so I am glad the matter is a pressing one for the people of east Galway. It is not a new issue either. The Dunkellin river has flooded on a number of occasions in the past six years and these events have had a major impact on the local people, who live in constant fear for their homes and livelihoods. Something needs to be done urgently to mitigate the threat of flooding in the area. Local residents, businesses and farmers have a right not to live in constant fear that everything they hold dear might be washed away in the next flood. All it takes for the river to burst its banks is a few inches of rainfall. In the event of a torrential downpour, many locals are left completely helpless.

Initiatives aimed at relieving the pressure from potential flood risks have been raised over the years, well before the Minister of State or I ever got into politics, but nothing constructive was ever done to help the people living along the banks of the Dunkellin river and the Aggard stream. I have witnessed such flooding during the course of my duties as a public representative and I can tell the Minister of State and his Department that they cannot act with enough haste on this issue. We must consider introducing a scheme of works on the river, perhaps through community employment initiatives, to try to resolve the problem if funding is the issue. If planning is the problem, we cannot engage enough with stakeholders and with those who might object to any works that could take place so that we can reach a solution to improve the lives of the families living along the river and give them the basic human right of safety in their homes. It is fundamentally wrong that local residents in Craughwell and Kilcolgan and all along the Dunkellin river and Aggard stream should have to become so comfortable with using sandbags as a last means of protecting their properties and families. To add insult to injury, the properties these people own are worthless as a consequence of this being allowed to happen so frequently.

I call on the Minister of State and his Department to take immediate action to implement some flooding relief measures that would be adequate to ensure that people along the Dunkellin river in County Galway no longer have to fear rainy days. I know the Minister of State is trying to do what he can on this issue, but if he is mindful of dealing with the issue, could he try to implement adequate flood relief measures as soon as possible? That would be most helpful. It is heartbreaking to see a local resident in Craughwell on the front page of The Connacht Tribunedrenched by the rain and his property surrounded by floods. It is heartbreaking that this should be allowed happen and something needs to be done with haste.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this important matter, on which she has been working for quite a few years at this stage. I hear, and share, her frustration that this is going on so long. Only a few weeks after taking up this role, I had the opportunity to meet with a number of residents in the area and I know the grave difficulties they have experienced and their continual fear of future problems. It is frustrating because, as far back as 2009 - in light of a flood event in November that year - a joint working group of representatives from the OPW and Galway County Council was established to examine flooding problems in the Galway area. In addition, a study was commissioned by my office at that stage to identify additional practical measures that could be found to address flooding on the Dunkellin river and in its catchment area. Consulting engineers produced a report identifying a flood relief for the area. I accept and share the Senator's frustration that this has been going on for a very long time and I am very conscious of the damage and harm caused to people and their homes and businesses by severe flooding.

The Office of Public Works is committed to addressing, in an effective way, all significant flood risk throughout the country and has agreed to fund a programme of flood alleviation works for the Dunkellin river from Craughwell to Kilcolgan and for the Aggard stream and its tributaries up to Cregaclare. Galway County Council is the contracting authority with overall responsibility for the flood relief scheme. The council appointed the engineering and environmental consultants needed to complete the design of the scheme and to attain the necessary statutory permissions for it. Galway County Council is progressing the scheme through An Bord Pleanála under the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act. A particular feature of the proposed scheme is that, having regard to its location, there are a number of environmental considerations associated with the proposed works which have had to be examined carefully and sensitively.

Works proposed under the Dunkellin river and Aggard stream flood relief scheme can be divided into two distinct channels, namely, the Dunkellin or Craughwell river from upstream of Craughwell village to the N18 at Kilcolgan, and the Aggard stream and Monksfield river from Cregaclare, near Ardrahan, to its outfall at the confluence of the Dunkellin and Craughwell rivers. Works on the Dunkellin river will consist of channel-deepening from Craughwell village to the confluence with the Aggard stream, local channel widening at Rinn Bridge and out-of-channel maintenance from downstream of Rahasane turlough, to Rinn Bridge. The proposed works for the Aggard stream are minor in nature and will be limited to the replacement of field wall crossings and culverts which are blocked or undersized or which have collapsed, together with the removal of fallen trees and minor obstructions in the channel. Maintenance works on the Aggard stream will include the non-invasive trimming of bank-side vegetation and the removal of areas of accumulated silt along the full length of the channel. Galway County Council and their consultants finalised the environmental impact statement and Natura impact statement for the scheme in October 2014.

The scheme was submitted to An Bord Pleanála for consideration in November 2014 for planning approval in line with section 175 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. A number of submissions from interested parties were received by An Bord Pleanála in respect of the proposals and the board issued a request for further information to Galway County Council on 2 March 2015. The council requested an extension of time in which to respond to the board's request and the period for response was extended to 10 July 2015. In light of the significant additional data submitted by Galway County Council, An Bord Pleanála requested that both the statutory authorities that were advised of the planning application and the general public be made aware of the additional information and that further submissions or observations could be made to the board within a specific timeframe. As Senator Higgins will be aware, an oral hearing on the proposed scheme commenced on Tuesday, 27 October 2015. The hearing concluded on Tuesday, 3 November 2015 and An Bord Pleanála has indicated that it would be making a decision on the application as expeditiously as possible. I certainly hope that is the case.

I fully acknowledge that bringing forward the proposals for the Dunkellin scheme has taken considerable time and that people affected by the flooding in the area are very anxious that works commence as soon as possible. Galway County Council has been working as diligently as possible to advance the proposed scheme, while having regard to the environmental complexities and sensitivities involved. We must wait for An Bord Pleanála to issue its determination on the proposals but, subject to this, I assure the Senator that the Government remains fully committed to the provision of a flood relief scheme for the Dunkellin river and Aggard stream. We want to see this project under way as quickly as possible. As soon as the board make a decision, and should that decision be favourable, we will get on with it as quickly as possible. Crucially, in terms of funding, the OPW has made provision for the cost of implementing the scheme in its multi-annual budget profiles into the future. The funding is in place as is the commitment from Government, the council and the OPW. We just need the board to make its decision.

Lorraine Higgins (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his very detailed response. As somebody with an interest in the environment who once wrote a thesis on intergenerational equity and the environment, I totally understand the environment considerations in respect of this project. However, there is a bit of a trade-off going on between the environment and the human right to safety for the people living along the river and the stream. Far be it from us, as politicians, to intervene in the planning process. When that was done in the past, we had two planning tribunals, so I will totally respect whatever decision An Bord Pleanála makes. However, if there is a positive response with regard to the families that are living along the Aggard stream and the Dunkellin river, I hope the Department and Galway County Council will act as expeditiously as possible and put in place the flood relief measures that are so badly needed for this area.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As soon as An Bord Pleanála makes a decision - a matter with which I do not wish to interfere - if we are ready to proceed with the scheme, then I would be delighted to meet the Senator and update her on the timeline for getting these works in place. We are very committed to this. We want to see it happening. It has been a long time in the offing. We have set aside the funding and there is a political and official will from Galway County Council and the OPW to make it happen. This matter is a priority for us.