Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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303. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of a project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45999/21]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The Enniscorthy (River Slaney) flood defence scheme is being progressed by Wexford County Council (WCC) on behalf of the Commissioners of Public Works as a scheme under the Arterial Drainage Acts 1945 and 1995. This is a significant scheme within the Office of Public Works €1 billion flood relief investment programme nationally, from which the relevant funding for the Enniscorthy scheme will be made available, and on completion will protect 236 properties in the town.

The Scheme requires formal confirmation from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (MPER) to proceed. This is a statutory requirement under the Arterial Drainage Acts(ADA), which now, under the recent European Union (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Arterial Drainage) Regulations 2019, also requires the MPER to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the proposed Scheme. This involves, inter alia, a formal review by MPER of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) commissioned by WCC and recently submitted (along with a Natura Impact Statement) to MPER as part of the formal Confirmation process.

DPER ran the statutory public consultation period required in relation to this process from July 28th to August 28th, 2020. The initial phase of the review of the EIAR and NIS was carried out by consultants engaged for this purpose by DPER, during September and early October. DPER subsequently forwarded submissions from the public consultation, and the EIAR and NIS reviews, to the OPW, along with a request for supplementary information, pursuant to ADA regulations 2019, to ensure that the design of the scheme complies with relevant environmental directives and regulations.

The OPW, Wexford County Council, and scheme consultants Mott Mc Donald formally submitted their response to DPER in the final week of April 2021. DPER confirmed that they have received the independent consultants’ review of this information and are finalising their assessment of the supplementary information.

Completion of the above tasks and the progression of the flood relief scheme is a priority for all parties. In parallel with the confirmation process, OPW and Wexford County Council have been working on the following to ensure as efficient progression of the works as possible once the scheme is confirmed –

- Foreshore Licence Application public consultation has been completed, documentation is under review by the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage , and approval is expected 2021.

- Technical approvals have been received from Irish Rail for the railway line crossings and from Irish Water for the diversion of services, the legal agreements with Irish Rail and Irish Water are complete, and will be signed post confirmation.

- Tender Pre-qualification for contractors for the bridgeworks was re-advertised and is currently being assessed. This will expedite contractor appointment post-confirmation.

- Service Diversions - the detailed design & tender documents for these works are complete, the tender for these works will be advertised following scheme confirmation.

- Archaeological excavations are ongoing.

- Treatment of invasive species (e.g. Japanese Knotweed) is ongoing.