Written answers

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

Flood Relief Schemes Data

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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332. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the position regarding the planned flood relief scheme in Cork city; the timeline for the delivery of the project; the nature of the public consultation that will be held; if he will ensure that a fully manned consultation period over a number of days in the city is held; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31088/14]

Photo of Brendan HowlinBrendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I am advised by the Commissioners of Public Works that 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 OPW will hold a public information day on the Scheme in Cork City Council Offices on the 29th July, 2014, which follows on from the first information day in July, 2013. This will provide an overview of the emerging preferred scheme to be brought forward later in the year. This information day will be attended by members of the Design team to deal with queries from the public. It is also intended to keep all information on display for up to a further five days to facilitate those who might wish to comment at this stage. Committing the Design team to be available for all of this period would not be warranted. There will be a period afterwards for members of the public to submit their comments, which can then be incorporated into the detailed documents for the statutory Exhibition later in the year.

The statutory Public Exhibition, which will be commenced before the end of 2014, will last between four to six weeks. There will be a number of days where members of the Design Team will be in attendance to deal directly with members of the public, all of which will be widely advertised. At that stage, the outline design of the proposed scheme 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.

Once the Exhibition is completed in early 2015, the Design Team will fully consider all submissions made and amendments, where appropriate, may be made and developed in the detailed design of the Scheme. The OPW will then issue responses to all parties who made submissions. It is expected that the detailed design phase will commence in the second quarter of 2015, with the procurement of civil works contractor to begin towards the end of 2015. The timescale will, of course, be dependent on the acceptance of the proposed scheme by the public and the amount of amendments which may be proposed as a result of submissions made. Progression of the project to construction will be subject to the approval of my Department. The OPW has made provision for the cost of the Scheme in its multi- annual budget profiles.

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