Holly Cairns
Question:34. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when the flood relief scheme in Skibbereen, County Cork will be officially completed. [45592/21]
View answerThursday, 23 September 2021
Questions (34)
Written answers
The Skibbereen Flood Relief Scheme main construction contract was substantially completed on 6th June 2019. All identified defects arising from the construction have been remedied, albeit with some delays as a result of Covid-19.
Planning for the operation and maintenance of the scheme is ongoing, in conjunction with Cork County Council, who are acting as agents of the OPW in carrying out the statutory operation and maintenance of the scheme. A small number of works to address certain issues identified during construction, which were outside the main construction contract and mostly separate from the Scheme area, remain to be completed and are being progressed in separate work-packages, including the following works at the Cork Road and Rossa Road.
Drainage works planned on Cork Road are not part of the main Scheme, but were subsequently identified as being necessary. Detailed assessments are currently being progressed by Cork County Council and consultants RPS, in conjunction with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), who are providing funding, and the OPW (who are providing some co-funding under the Minor Works & Flood Mitigation Scheme), to identify the most effective solution. The preliminary design report for these works is expected imminently. While work is currently ongoing on the development of a solution, the Council is not yet in a position to confirm the programme times in relation to planning approvals and construction.
Following the flood event which occurred in August 2020 in the Rossa Road area, Cork County Council and its consultants have been undertaking assessments of the problem. Although some assessments have yet to be finalised, some discussions have taken place with a local landowner, with a view to completing some remedial/improvement works. Further works will be progressed once the required reports are completed, and these are understood to be imminent. The OPW is providing funding towards these works under the Minor Works & Flood Mitigation Scheme.