Adjournment Debate

Industrial Development

Deputy Brian O’Shea

Between January and May of this year, 193 visits by prospective foreign direct investors were made throughout the country, at the invitation of IDA Ireland. Six visits were made to the south-east region — three to Waterford, one to Dungarvan and two to Carlow. This is absolutely appalling. The serious neglect of Waterford and the south east must be brought to an end quickly. There has been a drain of jobs from the Waterford constituency in recent times, following big and small closures and big and small layoffs. In the past year, there has been an increase of 1,046 in the overall live register figure for the Waterford constituency. As of 31 May last, the live register figure for the Waterford exchange area was 12,294, while the figure for the Dungarvan area was 2,346. The total figure for the whole constituency was 14,640. The breakdown of these figures shows that in the Waterford exchange area, 1,742 men and 1,038 women under the age of 25 are on the live register. The comparative figures for the Dungarvan area are 306 males and 141 females under the age of 25. These figures do not include those who have emigrated. There were eight prospective investor visits to the Waterford area in 2009, with two visits to the Dungarvan area.

I asked a parliamentary question on 9 June last about the promotion to potential investors of the former cheese factory site at Kilmeaden, County Waterford. In response, the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, informed me that the promotion of land banks to investors is the responsibility of IDA Ireland, which will promote the site for mobile overseas investment as appropriate. He also informed me that Enterprise Ireland has made its regional and international staff aware of the availability of this land and continues to offer support within the realm of its remit. The Kilmeaden task force was established in 2009 by the company in question. Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Waterford County Council and Waterford Chamber of Commerce are actively involved in the task force, which holds meetings on an almost monthly basis. The real issue is whether IDA Ireland has come up with any potential investors. To the best of my knowledge, it has failed to do so.

I wish to compare Waterford and the south-east region with other regions, with regard to foreign direct investor visits at the invitation of IDA Ireland in the first five months of this year. The north-west region, with seven visits, is the region with the next lowest number of visits, after the south east. There was one visit to Donegal and six to Sligo. The midlands came next, with 14 visits. The mid-west and the north east had 16 visits each, east Galway had 18 visits, the south west had 22 visits and the east region had 94 visits. The figures provided by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, revealed that Dublin city and county had 92 visits over the period, Cork city and county had 22 visits, Galway city had 18 visits, Limerick had 11 visits and Waterford city and county had four visits.

The figures I have given the House prove that Waterford and the south east are being scandalously neglected when it comes to job creation. This state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue. Waterford and the south east must get a fair share of the foreign direct investor visits organised by IDA Ireland. There is a vital strategic need to develop the job creation capacity of Waterford and the south east, so that the region's potential can be maximised. I emphasise in the strongest possible terms that if this is to be achieved, Waterford Institute of Technology must be upgraded urgently to constitute the university of the south east. I demand that the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation ensure that Waterford and the south east get a fair share of promotion to foreign direct investors.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Deputy Martin Mansergh)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on the Adjournment. I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. Waterford has a long and strong track record as a centre of manufacturing expertise. It is also an important transport hub. It has an excellent institute of technology, with higher ambitions. It is the capital of the south-east region, which happens to be my region. County Waterford has a key strength in engineering in both the indigenous and overseas sectors. In recent years, there has been significant growth in advanced manufacturing, particularly in the life sciences sector, and in the international and financial services sector. In recent years, the business environment has become more challenging for companies in lower value manufacturing.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills today welcomed the announcement by the European Parliament of its approval of Ireland's application for assistance under the European globalisation adjustment fund, EGF. The application encompasses more than 650 workers who were made redundant at the Waterford Crystal plant in Kilbarry and ancillary enterprises in 2009. The EGF application is for just under €4 million, of which the Government is providing almost €1.4 million, with the remainder coming from the EGF. This is the second EGF application in support of redundant Irish workers affected by the adverse impacts of globalisation to be approved for assistance under the fund. It responds to the strong case made by the Government and the EU recognition that the measures to assist workers formerly employed in Waterford Crystal justify financial support. Since the Kilbarry and related redundancies last year, the relevant State agencies have been implementing measures in support of the workers. For example, FÁS has provided occupational guidance and interview skills to more than 480 redundant workers. To date, almost 250 redundant workers have availed of training places in a variety of disciplines. The vocational education committees, Enterprise Ireland and the city and county enterprise boards are also offering a range of educational and enterprise supports to former workers.

It is clear that we are operating in a very difficult economic environment. In addition to the normal level of job losses, many IDA Ireland client companies announced significant reductions in their global workforces as they came under increasing pressure to survive. A number of such companies are being supported by IDA Ireland to retain substantial employment. In the case of Waterford, IDA Ireland gave direct support to companies in 2009 to maintain approximately 2,000 jobs which were at high risk. We must remember that there are 31 IDA Ireland-supported companies, employing approximately 5,960 people, in Waterford city and county. IDA Ireland is committed to balanced regional development. One of the high level goals of the agency's strategy document, Horizon 2020, which was published earlier this year, is that 50% of all foreign direct investments will be located outside Dublin and Cork by 2014. The challenge in achieving an even spread of investment intensifies as the sophistication of investments increases. Competition for foreign direct investment comes not just from other countries, but from city regions with populations in excess of 1 million people. Dublin is the only recognised city region in Ireland that meets this criterion. If foreign direct investment is to continue to contribute to balanced regional development, other regions of the country must be promoted as regions of scale with urban centres that provide the range of infrastructure and services that high value investment projects demand.

In the case of Waterford, IDA Ireland is concentrating on the gateway city of Waterford and the town of Dungarvan. In addition to marketing the area for new inward investment, IDA Ireland is actively engaged with the existing IDA Ireland client base in Waterford city and county to encourage a transition to higher value activities and to promote further investment in Ireland. Clear evidence of the transition to more knowledge based and higher value activity can be seen in the resilience of companies such as Bausch & Lomb, Honeywell and GlaxoSmithKline, as well as newer additions to the county's portfolio such as Citi Hedge Funds, Genzyme and Sun Life Financial. In marketing County Waterford for new foreign direct investment, IDA Ireland is focused on attracting overseas companies in the services and knowledge-based industries, including advanced manufacturing. Sectors of focus in the medium term will be life sciences, information and communications technology, international services and high technology engineering.

IDA Ireland also provides tailored property solutions to its clients and potential clients. In Waterford, the agency has developed the 28 ha. Waterford Business and Technology Park and the Dungarvan Business Park. In addition, it is developing a large-scale 55 ha. greenfield site in Belview which is specifically targeted for larger-scale utility-intensive overseas investments. A further 20 ha. site, the Knockhouse lands, is available adjacent to the Genzyme facility on the Kilmeaden Road.

IDA Ireland continues to work closely with third level educational institutes in the region so that the skill sets necessary to attract high-value employment to the county are developed. IDA Ireland maintains a close relationship with FÁS to ensure the requirements of industry, particularly in the area of training and skills, are met. While IDA Ireland actively encourages new investments in Waterford, it is ultimately the investor who decides where to locate.

According to the latest figures available, there are 183 Enterprise-Ireland-supported companies in Waterford, employing more than 3,600 people. So far this year, more than €1.8 million has been paid out to Enterprise Ireland client companies in County Waterford. In 2009, the City and County Enterprise Boards in Waterford issued €400,000 in grant support to 56 micro-enterprise projects and 1,113 people took part in CEB-organised training programmes.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Johnny Brady)

The Minister of State has gone over his time.

Deputy Martin Mansergh

I will just finish the last couple of paragraphs, if I can. Some of the other replies are shorter.

Deputy Jack Wall

That is a bad sign.

Deputy Martin Mansergh

My priority is to ensure that the business environment is supportive of Irish enterprise generally and that we continue to attract high-value foreign direct investment and assist the development of indigenous industry.

In addition, the Government has taken decisive action to restore the flow of credit to business, particularly small and medium enterprises, which are the main source of employment in the economy. Undertakings required of the main banks in the recent recapitalisation exercise will ensure that these banks repay the debt they owe to the Irish taxpayer by restoring the flow of credit to enable business to exploit the opportunities offered by recovery in global markets. The Minister has met with representatives of the banks and will continue to monitor their activities closely to ensure they fully honour the commitments given in this regard. These actions taken by the Government will ensure that the Irish economy is well placed to take advantage of the international recovery and restore growth in economic activity and employment.

Hospital Services

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity of raising this important issue which is of concern to women and families throughout the country. I regret that the Government has not provided time for this to be addressed in the Dáil in a more substantive way. I reiterate my call on the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, to address the House on the issue and take questions from Members.

When Melissa Redmond courageously spoke out about her experience in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda she was followed by other women across the State who had similar experiences. The common factor was that the women were not properly listened to when they raised their concerns about their diagnoses of miscarriage. They trusted their own instincts and sought second or further opinions. All were women who had previously experienced pregnancy and, in some cases, miscarriages. They had learned from experience. They were in a position to make their own judgment and seek a second opinion. They had happy outcomes, thank God, and their children are alive and well today.

However, our thoughts must go also to the many women who are now living with the dreadful thought that their pregnancies may have been terminated based on a misdiagnosis of miscarriage. This is not just about the Melissa Redmond case or the women who have spoken out. They would be the first to acknowledge that, because the very reason they spoke out was to alert people to the wider implications.

The Minister has stayed largely silent on the issue, which is a cause of great concern and grief to many women. Now, for the first time, the Minister, in reply to a Dáil question from myself, has admitted that she had known of the Melissa Redmond case since August 2009, the month following the mistaken diagnosis of miscarriage. In her reply yesterday, the Minister described how her Department and the HSE handled the Redmond case. Crucially, however, she gives no indication that the wider implications were considered, or the possibility that women had similar experiences in other hospitals.

The Minister needs to explain why it was only after the issue received widespread national publicity that the HSE ordered its review of cases over the past five years. Why was it only after the story broke in the media that the HSE wrote to all public and private maternity units advising them to establish immediate measures to ensure that decisions to avail of drugs or surgical intervention with women who have had diagnoses of miscarriage must be approved by a consultant obstetrician? Why have different standards and practices apparently been applied in different regions and maternity units? HSE West has said that second scans in cases of suspected miscarriage in early pregnancy are now standard. Is that the case in other regions? Is the HSE setting standards?

This will be a highly traumatic experience for possibly hundreds, if not thousands, of women who may find that their viable pregnancies were terminated after being wrongly diagnosed as miscarriages. The Minister stated in her reply to my parliamentary question that the HSE is——

Acting Chairman (Deputy Johnny Brady)

The Deputy has one minute remaining.

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

I urge Members of the House to listen to this. The Minister's words were that the HSE was "in the process of initiating the review of cases over the past five years to determine the number of patients who were recommended drug or surgical treatment when the diagnosis of miscarriage was made in error, and where subsequent information demonstrated that the pregnancy was viable". Will these women be contacted directly, and how soon? This issue has been known to the Minister, her Department and the HSE at least since August 2009. It is a classic case of patients not being listened to. We must have full disclosure of the truth and we must endeavour to ensure that such tragic misdiagnoses will never again occur in any of our maternity units.

Deputy Martin Mansergh

I am replying to this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children. All incidents of this kind are serious and are treated as such. They are distressing to the women and families involved and I express my sincerest sympathies to all those affected.

On 7 August 2009, solicitors for the couple concerned wrote to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, seeking certain assurances about the woman's care and other actions to be carried out by the hospital. On the same day, the solicitors wrote a short letter to the Minister for Health and Children enclosing a copy of that letter. This was also copied to the CEO of the HSE and to the State Claims Agency. The case was handled by the Department of Health and Children in line with the patient safety protocol adopted in September 2008, which deals with correspondence on issues of patient safety from patients, doctors, health service staff and solicitors. In view of the fact that a medical assessment of any potential patient safety issue is required, this is managed by the chief medical officer on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children.

Within one week the HSE responded to the solicitors, and a further letter was sent on 24 August. The Minister for Health and Children was copied on both these letters. The case was placed on the patient safety register and was reviewed regularly. In line with the protocol, the Department of Health and Children followed up with the HSE by telephone and letter to determine whether any risk issues had arisen from its investigation of the case. Following these contacts, the hospital's risk management unit advised the Department in January that a number of measures had been put in place to ensure that the chances of such an error being repeated were minimised. The Department requested further details, which were received in April 2010.

The Department's patient safety protocol meeting of 6 May 2010 reviewed the hospital's action in the case and was satisfied that it had been dealt with in a suitable manner and that a patient safety risk for other users of the service did not arise. It was determined that follow-up actions to enhance patient safety had been put in place at the hospital, and the chief medical officer was satisfied that the case had been dealt with appropriately.

I must point out that there has been no other case of this type on the patient safety protocol register since its inception in October 2008; neither was it indicated to the Department that any other such cases had been identified. However, as a result of media coverage in recent days a number of other cases were brought to the attention of the Minister for Health and Children.

As a result, a number of actions have been agreed by the HSE in conjunction with the Department of Health and Children to ensure the safe management of early pregnancy loss across the country, as follows. The HSE is in the process of initiating a review of cases over the past five years to determine the number of patients who were recommended drug or surgical treatment when the diagnosis of miscarriage was made in error, and where subsequent information demonstrated that the pregnancy was viable. The terms for the conduct of the review are being finalised at present and the HSE hopes to make them public in a matter of days. A joint letter from the Department's chief medical officer and the HSE's national director for quality and clinical care has been issued to all public and private obstetrics facilities advising them to put in place immediate measures to ensure the decision to use drugs or surgical intervention in women who have had a miscarriage diagnosed must be approved by a consultant obstetrician.

In addition, a clinical programme for obstetric care has been established by Dr. Barry White, the HSE's national director of quality and clinical care. The obstetrics programme will define standardised care for early pregnancy loss and other aspects of obstetric care. This programme is led by Professor Michael Turner of the Coombe Women's Hospital, who was appointed last month and will develop a guidance document for the management of early pregnancy loss in conjunction with the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Any objective look at the initiatives the Minister for Health and Children has taken and is taking demonstrates a determination and an earnestness to improve the safety and quality of care for all patients across the broad spectrum of health services activity. Under her stewardship key steps in this regard include statutory establishment of the Health Information and Quality Authority; the introduction of competence assurance for clinicians; the establishment of the commission on patient safety and quality assurance to set the agenda for change to improve the experience and outcomes of service users; the enactment of legislative provisions for protected disclosures by employees in the public health services who have concerns about safety of patients; preparation of legislative proposals to support open disclosure, adverse event reporting and clinical audit, which will be included in the Health Information Bill published this year; and legislative proposals for standards-based licensing of public and private health care providers, which are to be the subject to public consultation early next year.

I assure the Deputy careful attention will be given by the Department of Health and Children and the HSE to promoting learning from these incidents in order to improve patient experiences and outcomes.

Deputy Jack Wall

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for accepting this Adjournment debate. There is major concern about the changes that will take place in respect of respite care in the Kildare and west Wicklow area. Respite care will no longer be provided at the Drogheda Memorial Hospital. There are concerns about people who have attended the hospital for a period of time. In that time, people create friendships with staff and others in receipt of respite care. Changes are now being implemented and patients are being told that the liaison public health officer or a nurse will be in touch with them. Patients are not sure if the dates on which they were entitled to respite care will be honoured or where they will be sent. This is a major upsetting factor for senior citizens. The families involved are deeply concerned about the upset and torment this creates for senior citizens.

The Drogheda Memorial Hospital has served Kildare well. It was originally referred to as the jockey hospital. Anyone involved in the bloodstock industry who was injured was brought to the jockey hospital and the facility progressed to what it is today, a wonderful facility with wonderful staff and care. The INMO is deeply concerned about the suggestion that respite care will be stopped and the uncertainty about the future of the hospital now that there will be ten empty beds. I hope the Minister for Health and Children, through the Minister of State, Deputy Martin Mansergh, can give us a clear indication that there is no threat of closure to the hospital and that this is a short-term solution to financial circumstances of the HSE.

I am loth to hear arguments about why this hospital should be closed. It would have major implications for health care in Kildare. At the moment there is Baltinglass District Hospital and St Vincent's Hospital, Athy, which is practically impossible to get into for long-term geriatric care. Nevertheless, there are ten beds that seemed to be unused. That the HSE has determined there will be no more respite care provided at the facility adds to the worries and concerns. I hope the reply clears up the position in respect of the hospital, the patients, the families and the staff involved. I hope the Minister of State indicates this is a short-term solution to a financial position. I hope the hospital is not under threat so that we can move forward and see the hospital retained as a central focus point in the services supplied at the three hospitals in Kildare and west Wicklow. Those three hospitals are of paramount importance to providing services to senior citizens, especially to those in receipt of respite care.

Deputy Martin Mansergh

I will take the Adjournment debate on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney. The overarching policy of the Government is to support older people to live in dignity and independence in their homes and communities for as long as possible. Where this is not possible, the HSE supports access to quality, long-term residential care where appropriate.

In line with this overall approach, a priority of Government in recent years has been to develop a range of community-based supports such as home help, home care packages, and day respite care. Between 2006 and 2010, additional investment of more than €200 million was provided to the HSE to develop community based services for older people. Without these initiatives, many older people would spend longer than necessary in acute hospitals or would be admitted to residential care earlier than might be required. The HSE service plan 2010, approved by the Minister for Health and Children in February, commits the HSE to providing agreed levels of service nationally for these key community support areas. The plan includes respite care provision, often available via day care facilities or as part of a home care package. These services are delivered either directly by the HSE, or in partnership with the voluntary or private sectors.

Broadly speaking, the level of community supports for older people in 2010 is in line with the 2009 provision. This includes an increase this year in the number of home care packages available, due to an additional funding of €10 million given for this purpose in the last budget. The key activity targets contained in this year's HSE service plan are almost 12 million home help hours to around 54,500 people; increased home care package provision from 8,700 recipients at any one time in 2009, to 9,600 in 2010; and a total of 21,300 day care places, which is estimated to cater for up to 80,000 people. While this target is slightly down from a comparable figure of 21,600 places last year, the respite element of day care would be generally compensated for in the overall 2010 home care service picture. It should be noted that any changes to these national target commitments, as part of the agreed HSE service plan, must be notified to the Department.

The HSE provides more than 750 designated respite care beds benefiting an estimated 19,000 people. It also provides in excess of 1,000 dedicated rehabilitative, convalescence and assessment beds within its own facilities. In addition, the HSE is currently working to reconfigure services within its own facilities to ensure that the best possible use is made of public resources with regard to the provision of both long-term and short-term residential care services. The Department of Social Protection provides a respite care grant which may be used to purchase short-term care in private nursing homes.

Other important initiatives are also being undertaken at a strategic level to improve community based services for older people. Arising from an evaluation of home care packages, published by the Department last December, the HSE established a task group to progress various improvements in home care provision this year. The Department accepts the need for a more standardised approach to home care generally, whether by public or private provision. This year the HSE intends to introduce standardised access and operational guidelines for the delivery of home care packages; adopt a voluntary code of quality guidelines for home care support services for older people; and progress a new procurement framework for home care services. These initiatives will, as I have indicated, facilitate the HSE to implement a more standardised approach generally to home care services, including respite care, in the context of interlinking with the wider range of services throughout the acute hospital and primary care areas.

With regard to the particular case raised by the Deputy, I understand that the facility in question is still providing some respite and other care services, but faces challenges from new standard requirements and staffing issues. The HSE locally is arranging replacement care at present, as required, in local private nursing homes, or in St. Vincent's, Athy. This is done through the local public health liaison nurse who manages individual requests for respite.

As the Deputy is aware, the HSE has operational responsibility for the delivery of health and social services nationally. He will appreciate that all developments relating to older people, including respite care, have to be addressed in the light of the current economic and budgetary pressures. The HSE has been asked to make a rigorous examination of how existing funding might be reconfigured or re-allocated to ensure maximum service provision is achieved. This requires a stringent ongoing review of the application of the resources currently available. It is, consequently, a matter for the HSE to manage the services I outlined, at national, regional, or local level, bearing in mind all relevant factors such as overall resources, local circumstances, or evolving service priorities. This includes the provision of services at individual facilities within County Kildare, or elsewhere.

Flood Relief

Deputy P.J. Sheehan

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important issue to be raised tonight. I represent the people of West Cork, particularly, on this issue, the people of Bandon and Skibbereen who were so badly affected by flooding last winter. I am delighted the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, is present to hear me on this important matter because he has first-hand information, from his visit to both towns in early January this year, when he saw the amount of damage done there. I wish to concentrate on Bandon and the Bandon River to highlight the issues that need immediate attention. These problems also exist with the Ilen River which flows through Skibbereen. I hope the Minister of State will not give me and the people of Bandon and Skibbereen in his prepared reply a list of excuses about feasibility studies and co-ordination plans instead of action. I need not remind him it only takes a couple of hours from the start of rain to having water flowing through the doors of homes and business premises in both towns.

The Government immediately must have the following works carried out. It must oversee the removal of all obstructions from river beds and banks, including trees, rocks and debris from the Bandon River from Dunmanway to Innishannon and from Caheragh to Skibbereen and the Ilen River. It must provide emergency dredging along the length of both rivers. It is 30 years since any shovel of gravel was taken out of these river beds which is a shocking state of affairs. It must ensure the cleaning of all drains and road shores in the affected areas and provide the necessary funding for the proposed sewerage schemes so that construction can start immediately, especially where these separate farm water from sewage. It must replace all breached flood walls immediately and investigate areas where drainage problems occurred such as the Bridewell area and the Riverview development in Bandon and must provide remedies. No programme dredging or clearance of shrubbery has been undertaken of both those rivers during the past 30 years.

I spoke on this issue last November in the emergency debate in this House and raised this issue again as an Adjournment matter in January when I proposed local emergency plans. The national emergency committee was very slow to react in the case of the flooding and also during the period of sub zero temperatures in January. This is only a fire brigade Government in that it only reacts when the smoke is swirling all around it.

I call on the Minister of State to create local emergency co-ordinating committees on a pilot basis in Bandon and Skibbereen where these events occurred. These would, in the first instance, investigate the cause of the flooding, propose remedies to prevent or limit recurrences and draw up a plan to cope with the consequences of a recurrence. They should be able to create a local centre for emergency services co-ordination with a designated office on a safe site having basic essential services. They should create the position of a local director of emergency services to work in conjunction with and under the guidance of the national emergency co-ordination centre in drawing up a plan to respond to further events.

The good people of Bandon and Skibbereen need these steps to be taken now and not be bogged down in a paper mountain of bureaucracy. These measures need to be completed by the end of the summer so that the people do not have live under the threat of being flooded every time it rains next winter. The time for action is now. I call on the Minister of State to cut out red tape bureaucracy and act immediately. Actions speak louder than words.

It is of paramount importance that the rivers concerned be dredged immediately. How can flood waters subside when the rivers are choked with gravel and debris? More than six months have elapsed since the Minister of State visited Skibbereen and Bandon to view for himself the damage done to both towns. The only hotel in Bandon has been closed since New Year's Day. This is a sad reflection on a Government that has failed hopelessly to deliver the necessary precautions to avoid future flooding occurrences. I am delighted the Minister of State is here to answer my question.

Deputy Martin Mansergh

I am delighted on this occasion to speak on my own behalf in reply to this Adjournment matter. Following the severe flooding which affected the general Cork area in November 2009, I visited both Bandon and Skibbereen in January of this year. At that time I announced that the Office of Public Works is fully committed to working in partnership with Cork County Council, including providing expertise and guidance on flood solutions for the area. Our aim is always to ensure the preferred solution is one that will afford the required level of protection while also addressing any environmental issues and providing the best value for money.

Following an initial assessment by Cork County Council of the November 2009 flooding event in Bandon it was decided that an in-depth feasibility study was needed to identify and assess the various options available to address flooding in the area. OPW set up a steering group with Cork County Council to commission the procurement of consultants to undertake the study. The process of procuring the consultants is well under way and an appointment is likely to be made in the third quarter of 2010. The study is likely to take approximately nine to ten months to complete. At the core of the study will be an evaluation of the economic and environmental impacts of possible flood defence options which will be identified by the consultants. The best acceptable solution that emerges from the study will then be brought forward by the OPW, in conjunction with Cork County Council, for public consideration. Subject to any proposals being acceptable locally, detailed design will then commence which will allow construction to begin in 2012. This timescale is in line with those for all major flood relief projects undertaken by OPW. It is dictated by the complexity of the projects and the multi-stage process which must be complied with to ensure that they accord fully with public consultations and EU, Department of Finance and statutory requirements. When I was in Bandon, I made it clear that the town would be in line to receive the level of protection that towns like Fermoy, Mallow, Clonmel, Kilkenny, Ennis and so on have received. That announcement was very well received by the people of Bandon and by the local press. They want proper defence works and I flatter myself that the day I visited Bandon in January 2010 will be well remembered when these works finally come to fruition and provide the people of Bandon with the protection they deserve.

I am aware of local concerns about the build up of silt and debris in the river. Responsibility for maintenance and for removal of such items from the River Bandon is a matter, as the case may be, for Cork County Council or any riparian owners along the course of the river. Cork County Council has examined the scope for maintenance work to be carried out on the river in advance of the implementation of any major flood relief scheme. It is my understanding that it has secured some funding locally and intends to carry out some minor channel works before the end of the year. If further beneficial urgent or high priority works are identified, it is open to the council to apply to the OPW for consideration under the minor works programme, of which three tranches have already been announced since last November.

The OPW and Cork County Council have also discussed the possibility of providing an interim early flood warning system for the town of Bandon ahead of the implementation of a flood relief scheme. The council is currently preparing a proposal for the development of a system with University College Cork. In principle, the OPW is agreeable to part fund a system with Cork County Council. This exists in Clonmel and is very beneficial as it provides several hours notice.

With respect to the problem in Skibbereen, the OPW has approved an application from Cork County Council under the 2010 minor works and coastal protection programme to procure a flood risk assessment and management study of the Ilen River. The sum of €120,000 has been allocated to Cork County Council to complete the study, which will examine the cause of the flooding problem and identify appropriate cost effective solutions. Cork County Council estimates that it will take approximately eight months to complete. It is envisaged that this study will also examine the viability of installing a flood warning system for Skibbereen. It is not possible at this stage to give a definitive timescale for implementation of any works recommended by the study. However, every effort will be made to move forward their implementation as quickly as possible, in line with normal procedure.

I am committed fully to securing effective and appropriate solutions to the problems that have been experienced by the people of Bandon and Skibbereen. I am confident the approach being followed by the OPW and Cork County Council offers the best prospect of this objective being achieved.

The Dáil adjourned at 11.15 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 17 June 2010.

Dáil Éireann debate - Wednesday, 16 Jun 2010