Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 March 2015
241. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an update on the Office of Public Works progress on flood relief and defences at a location (details supplied) in County Galway. [9333/15]
View answerAs indicated in my replies to previous Questions on this subject, the Office of Public Works (OPW) has submitted the proposals for the Clare River (Claregalway) scheme for statutory approval by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, as required by the Arterial Drainage Acts.
In order to comply with the requirements of SI 469 and SI 470 of 2012, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) engaged experts to carry out an independent review as part of its assessment of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the Scheme proposals. The report of the independent review was recently received by DPER and this raises a number of matters for clarification and some additional information requirements necessary to enable the adequacy of the EIS to be fully assessed. The OPW is currently considering the report.
Pending completion of DPER's assessment and approval of the Scheme by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, it is not possible to say when construction works will commence. However, the OPW remains committed to carrying out the scheme and has provided for its cost in its multi-annual capital expenditure profiles to 2017.
