Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for allowing me to raise this particularly important matter. I have an intimate knowledge of this subject because I live in the town and I am pleased that the Minister of State, Deputy Coveney, is in the House to reply because he is a Cork Minister and familiar with the problem.
Clonakilty has been subject to repeated tidal and fresh water flooding for many years. In 1991, the Department of the Environment sanctioned the appointment of consulting engineers, M.C. O'Sullivan, to look at ways and means of resolving this problem and their report made two essential recommendations. It recommended the construction of a tidal barrage of Clonakilty Bay to prevent tidal flooding and reduce the risk of freshwater flooding. The consultants also emphasised that any flood relief works which did not include the construction of a tidal barrage would prove unsatisfactory. The report also emphasised that, in the construction of the barrage, care would have to be taken to allow for the wildlife habitat in the mud flats in Clonakilty Bay. This would have to be observed in any measures being taken in the bid to prevent tidal flooding.
The second recommendation was to reduce the volume of surface water flooding in the eastern end of the town and the report proposed the construction of a new drainage system by way of sealed pipes into the tide at the eastern end of the town. The cost involved for the sealed pipe system is approximately £87,000 and the tidal barrage would cost approximately £1.5 million.
I ask the Minister to give consideration to providing the £87,000 which, on the face of it, is not a great deal of money. There is a serious flooding problem in Clonakilty. Sandbags are at the ready all the time and earlier this year, when there was a serious flood, it caused a great amount of damage, including damage to some local authority houses.
I have been given the excuse on a number of occasions that this is the responsibility of the Department of the Environment, the Department of the Marine or the Office of Public Works. If we could get £87,000 from any source with a view to considering the construction of a barrage at a later stage, I would be happy.