Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 17 Jun 2003

Vol. 568 No. 5

Written Answers. - Flood Relief.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

211 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance if he will report on the progress in relation to the interim works to deal with the Tolka flooding; if he has received the further studies on the flows on the river; when he will sanction the outstanding works pending from the preliminary flooding assessment; and when he will publish an action plan for the entire Tolka catchment area. [16475/03]

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Mr. Parlon)

The interim works on the River Tolka in Dublin city, county Meath and Fingal are being carried out by the Office of Public Works on behalf of the local authorities. The works which include the construction of walls and embankments, the replacement of bridges, and the maintenance cleaning of the channel, are due to be completed at the beginning of October.

It is not intended to proceed with all the works recommended in the interim report at this time. This is due to the considerable time it would have taken to implement proposals requiring site investigations and detailed design as well as the environment considerations involved. It is also necessary to be mindful of the fact that the full report on the Tolka catchment is due shortly and will provide additional information on which future decisions can be made.

The current position on the full report is that a draft technical report has been received from the consultants and is currently being studied by the three local authorities and Office of Public Works. While the report is being examined the consultants will continue to work on evaluating the issues raised in third party submissions and production of a cost benefit analysis. A draft final report will be submitted to the Office of Public Works and the local authorities for consideration by the end of July. The report is expected to be completed a number of weeks after that and will form the basis for decisions on flood management along the whole catchment.