Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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119. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the consultant tendering process that was followed by the Office of Public Works to award the contract for the lower Lee flood relief scheme. [38959/18]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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120. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason the assessment of the Office of Public Works on the feasibility of a tidal barrier did not include the location outlined by a company (details supplied) in its alternative proposal. [38960/18]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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122. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the independent cost controls in place for works carried out by the Office of Public Works; and the cost controls that have been utilised on the lower Lee flood relief scheme. [38962/18]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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123. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason there is a gap between the costing of independent experts of between €120 million and €180 million for a tidal barrier and the OPW's report costing of €1 billion for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38963/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions. Nos. 119, 120, 122 and 123 together.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) has developed the proposed flood relief scheme for Cork City following 11 years of detailed scientific and engineering study and design which has been carried out with the benefit of ongoing and regular public consultation with the general public and other key stakeholders.

The tender notice for the Main Engineering Consultancy contract on the Lower Lee Flood Relief Scheme was advertised on the Irish government’s eTenders website and also on the Official Journal of the European Union, the European Public Procurement website, in September 2012. This was an Open Procedure and tenders were scored on a number of relevant criteria. As a result of this process, Arup Consulting Engineers scored the highest and were appointed as Main Design Engineers on the scheme in 2013.

Over the course of the following four years, the design consultants, in conjunction with the scheme’s environmental consultants, along with the Steering Group on the project with representatives of the OPW, Cork City Council, Cork County Council and the ESB considered and assessed all options to deal with the complex flooding from Inniscarra to Cork City. This process eventually identified a solution, which is the optimum and only technically viable flood relief scheme for Cork City.

The scheme was brought to formal public exhibition in December 2016 and, as part of the consultation process, a number of specific reports were produced and provided to the public on other alternative options which had been put forward but which were not viable solutions. Included in these reports was a very comprehensive report on the potential for a tidal barrier in Cork called “Supplementary Report – Option of a Tidal Barrier” which set out the costs of various possible tidal barriers at different locations.

A local group opposed to the identified scheme commissioned a report by HR Wallingford to undertake a cost estimate only on a concept barrier at Little Island. This report estimated the cost of a tidal barrier at Little Island at €165 million, including 25 years of operation and maintenance costs but noted that significant further study would be required to establish the required details of a suitable barrier and hence to provide an accurate cost estimate.

The detailed OPW report examined the Little Island barrier option as proposed by the local group opposed to the preferred scheme but the alignment, geometry, gate sizes etc. of this option were found to be unsuitable. The Little Island option was assessed in particular in Sections 5.4, 8 and 9 of the OPW report. An option to locate a tidal barrier at Great Island was considered the most technically suitable and this was costed at c. €1bn in the OPW report.

The difference in cost estimates of the two reports can be explained by the fact that the OPW cost estimate includes the following costs which are not accounted for in the HR Wallingford cost estimate:

- Cost of modifications to the barrier alignment, including additional lengths of barrier gates, required to address technical issues with the concept put forward by the stakeholder group

- The cost of flood defences required to mitigate residual fluvial flood risk upstream of Cork City

- The cost of measures required to mitigate a predicted flood bypass route around the north of Little Island

- Uplift in contingency cost due to increased baseline construction costs

- Uplift in operation & maintenance costs to allow for a 50 year maintenance duration, and due to increased baseline construction costs

All works carried out by the OPW are subject to robust cost control procedures which are in full conformity with the requirements of the Public Spending Code. In the first instance an individual project budget is prepared at the beginning of each project, which is then monitored and adjusted as required during the different stages of Feasibility, Public Exhibition, Detailed Design etc. All major flood relief projects are subject to a rigorous Cost Benefit Analysis which is prepared in line with best international practice and updated at key stages of project development. The project budget is approved by the Board of Commissioners of Public Works before being submitted to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for final statutory approval or Confirmation by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform under the Arterial Drainage Acts 1945 and 1995.

All public works contracts awarded by the OPW are procured through competitive tendering procedures to ensure best value for money and all procurement is carried out in full compliance with national and EU procurement rules.

At project implementation stage, all costs are closely monitored by the project steering group to ensure that all potential significant cost variations are identified in a timely manner and all possible steps taken to address the underlying issues. Detailed cost reports and budget analyses are prepared on a monthly basis and considered at the monthly project steering group meetings. Project expenditure is monitored on an ongoing basis by the OPW and is discussed at monthly expenditure control meetings chaired by a member of the Management Board. All project budgets and expenditure within OPW are also subject to independent audits from the Comptroller and Auditor General.

All of the above cost monitoring and control procedures are in place for the Lower Lee (Cork City) Flood Relief Scheme.