Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 April 2021
88. Deputy Verona Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the current position regarding the Enniscorthy flood relief scheme; when will the OPW officially sign off on the scheme for the River Slaney; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20487/21]
View answer99. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the Enniscorthy flood defence scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19671/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 88 and 99 together.
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, from which the relevant funding for the Enniscorthy scheme will be made available. On completion, the Enniscorthy flood relief scheme will protect 236 properties in the town.
The Scheme requires formal confirmation from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (MPER) to proceed. The Office of Public Works submitted the scheme and associated environmental assessments to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in Spring 2020 for statutory confirmation under the Arterial Drainage Acts, which now, under the recent European Union (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Arterial Drainage) Regulations 2019, also required the MPER to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the proposed Scheme. This involved, inter alia, a formal independent 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 has now forwarded submissions from the public consultation, and the EIAR and NIS reviews, to the OPW, along with a request for supplementary information, 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 have since been reviewing and compiling the supplementary information required, in order to formally respond to the points raised by the review of the scheme by DPER and their consultants. The relevant information will be forwarded to DPER by the end of April 2021. DPER and their consultants will then review the material submitted with a view to confirming the scheme. It is not possible to provide a specific timeline for a formal decision regarding confirmation in advance of that.
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 activities to ensure as efficient progression of the works as possible once the scheme is confirmed –
- the Foreshore licence application public consultation has been completed, approval expected mid 2021
- a legal agreement with Irish Water for diversion of services has been agreed. The detailed design for these works is complete, and contractor tender documents are currently being reviewed prior to advertisement.
- Technical approvals have been received from Irish Rail regarding the rail line crossings, with the legal agreement well advanced.
- Archaeological excavations are ongoing as required.
- Removal of invasive species (e.g. Japanese Knotweed) are ongoing.
- The Pre-qualification tender process of the bridgeworks contractor is ongoing.
