Vol. 508 No. 1
385 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Finance the progress, if any, in relation to the flood relief plan for Kilkenny city; and if he will have further examinations made into the River Nore at Thomastown to ensure that this area will not be adversely affected by work undertaken in Kilkenny city. [17883/99]
403 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Finance if, in view of the most recent severe flooding at John's Quay, Kilkenny, he will allow work to proceed on the provision of a retaining wall as an interim step which would ease the continual hardship endured prior to the commencement of the overall plan of £10.5 million approved for flood relief on the River Nore; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18164/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 385 and 403 together.
A flood relief plan for Kilkenny city has been developed by the Office of Public Works. All such plans are guided by the wishes of the local authority and affected landowners. A plan meeting the wishes of those interested parties was completed in Office of Public Works and put on public exhibition on 30 June to 30 July 1999 in accordance with the arterial drainage Acts 1945 and 1995. As a result of this exhibition a number of matters remain to be clarified and this process is in hand. I hope to have the scheme confirmed by the end of this year.
Before the scheme can reach works stage it will be necessary to design in detail the precise works to be carried out so that suitable contractors may be appointed to execute the scheme. This will involve the commissioning of consulting engineers to complete the detail design and the Office of Public Works has placed advertisements in the national newspapers and the EU Journal for this purpose.
