Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome my namesake, the Minister of State, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan. I thank him for kindly visiting my home town of Bantry some time ago to see first-hand the damage done by flooding. I also acknowledge the visit at around the same time of the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, whose home town it is, given his father was born and reared there, before he emigrated to Cork, if I can use the phrase. His visit also gave some hope.

The problem in Bantry, as the Minister of State is probably aware, is that we have a double issue. When there is severe flooding after a yellow status or orange status weather alarm, and this combines with high tides, which we call spring tides, it creates a perfect storm and is a very serious issue. Bantry is a relatively low-lying coastal town and, in the long term, will be exposed to future tidal increases and extreme storm weather.

I opened a little business there in 1981 and I have noticed, decade by decade, that the rainfall seems to have increased. In the first decade of my business, I think we had severe flooding once but in this past winter, from October to today, there has been flooding on five separate occasions, two of them quite serious. It is very stressful. It causes anxiety to people with businesses, which are closed because of Covid, to come in and find clothes and shoes floating around in 18 inches of water. It has done a lot of damage.

On the question of damage, if people can get insurance, given the repetitiveness of the flooding, insurance companies are increasing their premiums. The day is not far away when they will say, “Hold on, you have a perennial situation in Bantry and we will not cover you again.”

Because the town built new developments over the years, water is now running off hard surfaces and into the streams and culverts too quickly. The capacity of the culverts is no longer sufficient. Although I normally do not do so, I want to pay tribute to the British empire in its heyday and the monarchy that, in about 1860, built these systems in Bantry and other towns. In fairness, they have lasted up to this time and the structural culverts still stand and are in good use. However, when they were designed and the engineers dealt with this in about 1860, they never envisaged the culverts would have to take that volume of water.

The big issue is to find solutions, in particular to build and increase capacity and identify measures and techniques to slow down the quick release of excessive rainwater into the culvert infrastructure. I suggest that we set up a collaboration and communication between all the stakeholders, not necessarily just businesses, although we have a very active Bantry Business Association, which issues flood warnings frequently when there is a problem, which is very helpful, but also the owners of private houses and others. It is essential that the stakeholders are communicated with. We need a structural update on the culvert system and a feasibility study of different solutions should be embarked on quickly. We must identify critical problem areas and provide funding for immediate remedial work to improve the situation, although the culvert issue can be dealt with without further reports. We need to design a long-term plan.

I was on the council for many years, I was elected to the Dáil in 2002 and I was on the old Bantry Harbour Board, which was eventually subsumed into and taken over by the Cork Port Authority.That was a retrograde step. In 2010 or thereabouts, a pivotal part of a new plan for Bantry involved developing a barrage or sluice gate for high tides. When spring tide coincided with flooding, this would keep out the tidal water out and the floodwater would gather in an area of six or seven acres created in the inner harbour. I look forward to the Minister of State's response and thank him for visiting the town some time ago.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I am pleased to provide an update on what is happening in Bantry. As the Senator says, I was down in Bantry and other parts of west Cork, which got a horrific doing of flooding during the summer. I thank the outdoor staff of Cork County Council, all the voluntary emergency staff, my outdoor officials at the Office of Public Works, OPW, and the engineering staff of the OPW and Cork County Council for all their efforts, not just during the summer but since then.

Following the flood events which occurred in Bantry in August and November 2020, measures have been implemented by Cork County Council in conjunction with the OPW in advance of the predicted rainfall and tidal events, including recently due to status orange weather and rainfall weather warnings. These include Cork County Council staff placing large sandbags at Sands Quay where some of the tidal waters enter the square and also mobile and fire service pumps are placed on standby. These measures have mitigated flooding in the town by reducing the number of properties that flooded. I visited some of these and understand the difficulties caused. The Senator is right that the frequency and violence of the flooding are getting worse. I understand it is acknowledged locally to Cork County Council staff that the measures have prevented some of the further properties from flooding.

For the most recent forecasted rainfall events, Cork County Council hired an additional two mobile pumps in advance. Measures were again put in place and the town was monitored by local Cork County Council staff throughout the period from 23 to 25 February. Thankfully, no flooding occurred and the forecasted rainfall did not materialise.

The flood risk management plans launched by the Taoiseach in May 2018 include a recommendation to progress the project level development and planning of ten new flood relief schemes for County Cork, which includes Bantry. Each individual flood relief scheme has a steering group comprising representatives from the OPW and Cork County Council. A steering group is in place to progress Bantry. The Bantry flood relief scheme is due to be implemented as part of the first tranche of 60 new schemes which have been prioritised. There have been a number of potentially viable flood relief works outlined for Bantry, to be implemented as appropriate after project level assessments and planning, These would include fluvial flood defences comprising walls and embankments and tidal flood defences, as the Senator said. These measures have preliminary total project cost estimates of around €6.5 million and would protect about 200 properties. Cork County Council in partnership with the OPW is finalising tender documents for the procurement of engineering consultants to progress the development of the scheme and a prior information notice has been published by the council on the Government's procurement website, eTenders. I am delighted the tender is due to be advertised shortly.

Once consultants are appointed to progress the flood relief scheme for Bantry, consultation with statutory and non-statutory bodies and the public will take place at the appropriate stages to ensure all parties have the opportunity to input into the development of the scheme. The Senator made reference to everybody being included and that will be vital at the consultation stage. The public in Bantry, including the Bantry Business Association to which the Senator referred, will all be included. In the meantime, Cork County Council regional and local roads design office has commenced the preparation of the consultant's brief documents to carry out the repair and reconstruction of the Main Street culvert, also referenced by the Senator, which has been a significant element contributing to the flooding on the main street. I saw that when I visited the area around New Street and north and south of Wolfe Tone Square. My office is liaising with Cork County Council on the integration of these works into the flood relief scheme.

I know from speaking to residents last year that flooding in Bantry is causing concern for residents and businesses alike. Cork County Council is investigating whether further interim measures can be put in place in advance of the main flood relief scheme which will mitigate against the flood risk currently present.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I am glad to know he is au faitwith the situation in Bantry.The difference is that Bantry, because it is a tidal town, has the double problem of extreme rainfall combined with the tide issue.

The Minister of State might indicate some sort of timeline, if possible. Will we be waiting for five years or another period? It is an ongoing issue. When I was a Deputy from 2000 to 2007, we believed that we were approaching circumstances in which this matter would be dealt with but - I am not being political - it seems to have been forgotten over the past decade. Recent flooding has focused minds on the issue again. The Minister of State might give some indication of the timeline. I appreciate the efforts he is making. I thank Cork County Council and its staff. There is a lot of goodwill to resolve this issue, and that goodwill and the impetus should be maintained. If we lie back on the oars again, we could face terrible damage.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator. I have a meeting with Cork County Council arranged for tomorrow. I will be meeting the engineering staff regarding what happened not only last August but also, coincidentally, last week. We will be discussing Bantry, Bandon, Skibbereen, Clonakilty, Fermoy, Mallow and other towns with schemes in the pipeline, such as Midleton. The Senator's colleague Senator Dooley will know from places such as Clonlara that the OPW often receives objections to schemes from people who live many miles away. When the scheme comes to fruition in Bantry, we could receive objections from people in Wicklow, for instance. I hope that does not happen because a solution is needed for the people in Bantry who are looking out at Victorian culverts which in many cases have collapsed under the street and which cannot take the volume of water involved. The solution will have to be an engineered one. Trees will not hold back the water coming down from the hills around Bantry, and neither will they hold back the tide. A hard-engineered solution is needed. The OPW will build the infrastructure. We will require the support of the people of Bantry, which I know will be forthcoming. We hope the scheme will not be objected to but, I hesitate to say, it probably will be. As a result, I cannot give a timeframe for the works. We have the money and commitment, however, and we will have the support of Cork County Council. We will have the goodwill of the people of Bantry. I hope that the people who routinely object to schemes such as those proposed for places like Bantry do not do so in this case because the people of Bantry deserve to have their town protected.