Vol. 1044 No. 6
6. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if the OPW has plans to undertake any substantial building work in Shannon, County Clare, specifically remediation works on the Department of Transport's motor taxation office and the passport screening area in Shannon Airport's arrivals hall, operated by An Garda Síochána. [46933/23]
What plans does the Minister of State have in terms of the Office of Public Works, OPW, carrying out substantial capital works in the Shannon town area? Specifically, I would like to know whether the Minister of State has any plans for the motor taxation office and passport control in the arrivals hall of the airport.
The Department of Transport operates the driver and vehicle computer services from a State-owned building in Shannon town centre, that is, the Shannon vehicle registration unit, VRU. The building requires significant investment to address building fabric issues that have arisen over a number of years. This investment was under consideration when an opportunity to acquire a substantial property consisting of offices and warehousing in the Shannon area was identified. The property was acquired by the Office of Public Works and has the potential to meet the long-term requirements of the Department of Transport and other State bodies in the area. A master-planning exercise for the newly acquired building was under way when, in 2022, the building was allocated to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for possible conversion to residential use, subject to a cost-benefit analysis and stakeholder engagement, as part of the emergency response to the increased demand for accommodation for those seeking protection in Ireland.
As a result of the ongoing issues, it is the Office of Public Works's intention to decant existing staff currently operating from Shannon VRU to an alternative location and it is continuing to work closely with the Department of Transport to identify a suitable option. A potential solution has been identified in the Government offices in Ennis and the OPW is engaging with all stakeholders, the Department of Transport and existing occupants to ensure the requirements of all our clients are met in the most efficient manner. The Office of Public Works is also continuing to work with the Department of Transport to identify any further measures that can be put in place to mitigate the impact of the building fabric issues in the current building. Remedial work has been undertaken in recent weeks to assist the Department of Transport in managing the needs of the staff in the building at present. The long-term use of that building is under consideration.
The Shannon Airport Authority provides accommodation to a number of State bodies in the arrivals hall area of Shannon Airport to provide services that are essential to the successful operation of an international airport like Shannon. The OPW understands the Shannon Airport Authority is planning to undertake redevelopment works to much of the existing terminal, and the ongoing provision of accommodation for the State bodies will form an important part of any redevelopment. The OPW is engaging with all our clients, including An Garda Síochána and the Shannon Airport Authority, to ensure the longer term accommodation requirements will be adequately provided for in the proposed redevelopment of the arrivals hall.
Earlier this year, I visited the motor tax office in Shannon with the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers. It is in a deplorable state. There are basins and buckets in various parts of the corridor. There is water dripping down on some of the computer servers that house the national database for motor taxation. I do not think it is a very safe environment for the people who work in there. It is quite a miserable environment. It is cold and wet at the best of times. It is unsafe when water is dripping down on computers, workstations and the servers which, as I said, hold the national database. People were very disappointed to hear that unit 153 in the industrial estate in Shannon was being repurposed and given over the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth because this has very much been earmarked for many years. I fear now the reconfiguration taking place in unit 153 means it can never be used again for any State use beyond accommodation. It is in the middle of an industrial estate. I do not think it is an ideal place at all to be accommodating people.
The motor taxation office is a national asset. It manages the whole system for the country. It needs to be better appropriated than where it is at the moment. I do not think Ennis is as viable an option as the report would suggest. It needs to be in Shannon and the Minister of State needs to find a suitable building in Shannon.
I do not disagree with much of what Deputy Crowe said, but finding an available building in an area which, as the Deputy knows as well as I do, has literally gone through an explosion in the number of people who work there, thankfully, is not easy. That being said, we have carried out works in the Department of Transport building to make sure the fabric of the building is protected and the working conditions are being allowed to be properly maintained.
With respect to the Shannon 153 building, as the Deputy and I and other Members of the House know, every Department, including our own, was asked to examine its portfolio buildings to make sure any building that was surplus to requirements at a particular time or that could be made available at a particular time was considered for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. In that case, the Department of Transport building was proffered as one of those, specifically the Shannon 153 building. It does create an issue with regard to the Department of Transport but the Office of Public Works, working with the Department, is committed to trying to resolve it.
I could understand if unit 153 involved some light reconfiguration, but what is going on in there at the moment is heavy reconstruction. This shell of a building will never be able to be used by any other Department now after this work has happened unless the Department gets in the big diggers and pulls it all out again.
Going back to the airport, that passport control is the gateway to Ireland. It is where people first interact with Shannon Airport and the Wild Atlantic Way. Most of the airport has been overhauled in recent years with some really nice capital redevelopment refurbishment works, but that passport control area is for An Garda Síochána, and my understanding is it has always been OPW controlled. It does not fit in with the rest of the shiny airport. It needs some remedial work. It needs to be brought up to a more modern standard. We heard that is in the pipeline at some point. I would love to hear if there are some positive indications in terms of what the Minister of State has planned there.
I do not disagree with the Deputy. I have gone through it recently and it is in need of an overhaul. The Shannon Airport Authority has acknowledged the fact it has plans for the entire arrivals hall. We will work with it to make sure any works are done in conjunction with the overall Shannon Airport Authority's master plan for the arrivals hall rather than doing piecemeal or isolated work. We would not be doing that because as the Deputy said a while ago with respect to another building, the last thing we want to do is tear it out when Shannon Airport Authority might come along with a reconfigured arrivals hall that might not necessarily sit with what plans we might have regarding the accommodation we must provide for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, An Garda Síochána, the Revenue Commissioners, customs and others.
7. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the extent to which he and his Department continue to utilise reform as a means of creating a greater efficiency in the delivery of various Government projects throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46712/23]
36. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in the context of his delivery of the NDP, the extent to which he has isolated issues likely to culminate in delays in such delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46711/23]
This particular question pertains to ascertaining the extent to which reform can be employed to dislodge obstacles to the delivery of the national development plan, NDP, throughout the country and in my own constituency.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 36 together.
The Government has committed to €165 billion in capital investment through the national development plan published in 2021. As a percentage of national income, annual capital investment is now among the largest in the European Union. In 2023, almost €13 billion will fund vital infrastructure in areas such as housing, transport, education, enterprise, sport and climate action. Achieving value for money and reducing cost and schedule overruns form a vital part of delivering the national development plan.
The Government and I acknowledge the significant investment under the NDP does not come without delivery challenges. As the Deputy knows, delivery of some projects has been adversely impacted over the past three years as a result of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. I am acutely aware in particular of the challenges the construction industry has faced in terms of material price inflation, labour supply constraints and supply chain disruption. As a result of this, to safeguard the delivery of important projects, in January 2022, my Department introduced measures to address inflation for new contracts and tenders. Furthermore, in May 2022, a new set of measures to apportion additional inflation costs between the parties to public works contracts were introduced.
Nonetheless, no one is any doubt that the need to ensure timely project delivery must be part of the Government’s focus to respond effectively to the pressing challenges of our time, especially, of course, in housing, health and climate. The renaming of my Department as the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform has brought about a greater emphasis and mandate for the delivery of the NDP. Therefore, we have taken the following six actions: significant changes to reduce the administrative burden in delivering major capital projects; I am now chairing the Project Ireland 2040 delivery board; capacity reviews of Departments and agencies with significant delivery programmes to be carried out to ensure we have the adequate resources in place for project delivery; additional reforms to the capital works management framework; direct reporting to Government on NDP delivery on a quarterly basis; and an independent evaluation of the priorities of the national development plan and the capacity our economy needs to turn these priorities into new homes and schools and improved connectivity in our country.
I thank the Minister for his reply. Can I ask, by way of supplementary, about the extent to which efforts have been made to isolate the individual items that have caused delays in particular locations and the cause or causes of them? What is the viability of coming to grips with them and resolving them in the short term given the delivery of the national development plan is dependent on the resolution of any such issues and recognising that while the Covid-19 pandemic had an impact, there are other issues that have impacts as well?
The process for that tends to be that Ministers and their Departments identify any individual project, particularly high-profile projects, that may be affected by the impact of inflation and some of the other factors the Deputy has touched on. In the past year or so, we still managed to make progress on the majority of such individual projects, moving some of them to construction, a number through the planning process, and others through the business case evaluation process within my Department and the parent Department that sponsors individual projects.
Up to this point, my sense is we have managed to make progress on the majority of bigger stand-alone projects. If the Deputy has any particular project where he feels this is not the case, I am sure he will raise it with me now or at another point.
The Minister should not invite me to. I thank him for his reply. I have in mind a number of projects in my constituency regarding traffic management and alleviation of snarl-ups in various towns, including Naas but in particular Maynooth, where there is a massive logjam. Millions of euro were allocated 20 years ago and not a penny of them has been spent yet for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the Minister might get involved in that as a means of identifying the particular reasons and how they could be shortlisted.
I could not let the occasion pass without mentioning the issue in my constituency at Castletown in Celbridge, where the local population and residents are unfairly demonised through a series of implications that they are responsible for the issue. In fact, the first infraction was by the Department itself and by the Office of Public Works, OPW, which sought to rearrange the front gates in accordance with what it saw as an emergency. I do not agree, it is very unfair, and I ask the Minister to take a personal interest to resolve the matter as soon as possible.
In my constituency there are two projects, the Mallow relief road, which I have discussed previously, and the N25 upgrade. Millions have been spent on both of those projects to bring them to design stage. Properties on the routes have been sterilised and houses cannot be sold. Property owners were left in the lurch when, for no reason whatsoever, both projects were stalled, even though the Department of Transport, I understand, handed back €7 million last year to the Department for public expenditure and reform. Will the Minister tell me if this good value for money? I understand it is going to cost a lot more to bring these projects back up and running again eventually.
On the six issues the Minister raised there, especially independent evaluation, will these kind of bizarre decisions be evaluated with a view to getting these projects up and running again, getting rid of the uncertainty and driving economic growth in these regions? Mallow town, for instance, is absolutely choked with traffic. The hope was that this would go ahead. It was right at the edge. Even Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, has written to the Department of Transport begging it to make it happen.
The national development plan saw some projects blocked for ideological reasons. They did not make it in, and yet the Minister and his colleagues in Cabinet had the foresight to put in some enabling text. Sometimes that sentence at the end of a plan facilitates the projects that others would like to kill off. It allows them to proceed. I do not want to get the Minister to comment on specific projects but I hope that spirit of facilitation will continue, and that little sentence at the end of the plan will allow some of those projects to proceed through their statutory phases of design, public consultation, etc. I hope the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, as Minister in that Department, will be the guardian of that little sentence because it matters an awful lot in counties such as mine, where we have been waiting 15 to 20 years for some projects. They are not dead yet, and they will outlive a lot of people who serve in this House because of that little paragraph of text.
I wanted to come in on that because there seems some kind of a miscommunication. As was rightly said by Deputy Stanton, there was an underspend in the Department of Transport, and yet projects like the N17 have been put on hold. They are absolutely vital to the economic development of the areas they serve. What is going on there? There are mixed messages coming, that in one sense they are committed to it but then they are being stalled or withdrawn. It is causing great concern across these areas.
There are a lot of questions there but we have limited time.
I will do my best, and I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I will deal with each of them in turn.
On Deputy Durkan's point, I took care with the words I used earlier in my first answer to him. I said projects would be moved along, but of course it is the case that many projects are not hitting the original timings that were anticipated for them. So many capital projects have been affected by where we have been with inflation and the unavoidable consequences of our construction sector being closed for so long during the pandemic. In my experience, projects are still moving ahead, but it is undoubtedly the case they are not hitting the original timings laid down for them in the NDP. Some of those reasons are beyond the control of the Government.
With regard to Castletown House, I acknowledge Deputy Durkan's long-standing interest in this topic. He contacted me and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, in the early moments after this issue developed. I know the OPW and all of us are doing our best to try and find some way to resolve this issue. We also have to be conscious of the needs of the taxpayer and the fact there is a negotiation that happened and could happen again. I acknowledge the Deputy's interest in this matter and the case he is making for the resolution of this issue on behalf of the community. That will certainly be taken into account in our work on this issue in the time ahead.
To answer Deputy Stanton, it is a matter for each Minister to make decisions on the allocation of their own departmental budget for particular projects, and I have to respect that. It is the way the allocation of our budget works. I am aware of the long-standing interest the Deputy has in the Mallow relief road and the N25, which he has raised regularly with me here in the Dáil and elsewhere. I am aware of his views on this issue and his view regarding the need to make progress on them. I acknowledge that again.
In response to Deputy Crowe, I have written a few of those lines myself in the past and I am well aware of the importance of them. The current NDP will be the one that will see this Government out, but of course I am aware of the importance of that NDP and the signal it sends to local authorities and planning bodies.
To quickly conclude, with the indulgence of the Leas Cheann-Comhairle, Deputy Conway-Walsh raised the issue of a specific road project. I know the Minister, Deputy Ryan, is trying to make progress on many different transport projects at the moment, both public and road-based. As every Minister has to do, he is simply trying to allocate the funding that is available to him to make progress on as many things as possible at the current point. I will certainly raise, as I will those of Deputy Stanton, the views on those particular projects with the Minister.
9. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if he will outline details of the emergency funding to be provided following the devastating flooding in Midleton and the wider east Cork region; what timeline is available for these funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47034/23]
34. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to outline the supports being provided by his Department to assist those affected by the recent flooding in east Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46921/23]
I want to ask about the release of emergency funding. The Government will be familiar from Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, and indeed from the six members of the Cabinet who visited areas in Cork in recent days, of the utter devastation that has been caused by flash flooding in the area. Many communities have experienced colossal damages that will require many millions of euro in repair work. The hospital, the Garda station, road infrastructure, homes and businesses have been affected. I ask the Minister of State what he intends to do in terms of releasing additional capital to help our community.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 34 together.
At the outset, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Government, I want to express our sympathy to the people of County Cork and the other locations, in west Waterford especially, that were flooded and had their businesses and houses impacted by Storm Babet on Thursday of last week. After the event, the Taoiseach and I visited Midleton, as Deputy O'Connor said. We wanted to meet with local communities to see at first hand the devastation from the impact from Storm Babet, to hear people's experiences, to reassure the community of the Government's support during their recovery from the event and to deliver a scheme for the town. We met with officials in Cork County Council during the visit. Across east Cork and other local authority areas, local authority staff, An Garda Síochána, the Civil Defence, the Defence Forces, the Irish Coast Guard and with numerous volunteers worked to provide an emergency response to those affected. I would like to pay tribute to them here today. Last Friday, I met with officials from Cork City Council when I visited Glanmire to meet with those affected in that community.
The Government has initiated all appropriate responses to the flooding situation. The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, activated the humanitarian assistance scheme on 19 October to support households in Cork city and county and west Waterford, including Cork city, Midleton, Youghal, Castletownbere, Mallow, Tallow, Dungarvan and other affected areas. The purpose of this scheme is to prevent hardship by providing income-tested financial support to people whose houses were damaged. A total of 223 payments amounting to €147,260 have already been made to those affected. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, has also increased the income limits for the scheme with immediate effect.
In addition, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, has opened two emergency business flooding schemes for businesses, sports clubs and community and voluntary organisations unable to secure flood insurance and affected by the recent flooding in counties Cork, Waterford, Limerick, Kilkenny and Louth. The scheme provides humanitarian support contributions towards the cost of returning small businesses, clubs, community premises and other premises to their pre-flood condition, including the replacement of flooring, fixtures, fittings and damaged stock where relevant. Assistance of up to €100,000 can be made available under that scheme. In addition to the humanitarian assistance, financial assistance by way of low-cost loans is immediately available from Microfinance Ireland. Loan options include cashflow loans of up to €25,000.
On Tuesday of this week, along with officials from the Office of Public Works, OPW, I met with the chief executive and senior officials from Cork County Council and the scheme’s design consultants to discuss how the Midleton flood relief scheme can be delivered as soon as possible. I would like to reassure the House on behalf of the Government that the OPW, together with other agencies, will do all it can as quickly and efficiently as possible to make sure the communities impacted by the storms in the Cork and Waterford areas receive the relief they require.
I thank the Minister of State for the information he has provided. It is interesting to see the level of urgency that is being shown by the OPW around the scheme. I know that the Minister of State, having seen the damage, will do his best to try to push the scheme on. My colleague, Deputy Stanton, will go into this in further detail in the next question. My question pertains to the senior Minister and relates to funding. I would like to hear from the Minister, if it is appropriate, about the additional moneys that will have to be given to the Department of Transport and the allocations that will have to be made to Cork County Council through local government. Money has to come from somewhere to pay for these damages, in particular to road infrastructure. The damage that has been done is absolutely incredible. Bridges were knocked down and washed away. Roads have collapsed. Millions of euro in damage has been done to public infrastructure which pertains to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan and Reform. Will the Minister give the local Deputies in the area any reassurances about what can be done by his Department?
As I said at the outset, the Government is committed to making sure that the necessary funding, not only for private infrastructure but also for public infrastructure, is made available. As he was at the meeting in Midleton fire station when the CEO of Cork County Council raised the issue of damaged public infrastructure, Deputy O'Connor will be aware that the Taoiseach's response on behalf of the Government was very clear. This was followed up by the Tánaiste when he visited at the weekend. When assessments are completed by Cork County Council, Cork City Council and Waterford County Council in respect of the areas primarily affected by this event, they will have to be returned to the Government through the various Departments that have responsibility for them. I refer not only to my own Department but also to those responsible for housing, transport and education, etc. The Taoiseach was very firm in his response when he said that as with other flood events that have devastated other parts of the country, the Government will not be found wanting in making sure that the financial resources required to fund public infrastructure repairs, and the schemes to which I have already alluded for businesses and private homes, will be made available.
I appreciate the response. I recognise the presence of the Minister and the Minister of State here this morning. It is appreciated. A strong delegation came down from the Cabinet. A strong number of Ministers of State came down very quickly. To the public it may seem frustrating to see politicians showing up for photographs, but that was not the case. Tuesday's Cabinet meeting agreed a strong increase in supports, with the threshold for a single-income household increasing to €50,000 from €30,000 and the threshold for a joint-income household increasing to €90,000 from €50,000. In addition, there were €10,000 to €15,000 increases per child for dependent children. The response has been very strong. I want to make sure this issue remains apolitical. We must all work together to try to get done what needs to be done to help people, businesses and homeowners in east Cork to get back on their feet. I have a concern in regard to funding. We will need money and we need somebody to provide that money.
There are three more speakers before the Minister of State comes back in.
Earlier this year, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, came to Springfield, County Clare to open the Clonlara flood defence system, for which we had campaigned for more than a decade. We are grateful to him and to his Department. The people in Midleton and elsewhere in Cork who have endured this awful flooding in the past week should be aware that the flood defences planned for our community took many years to deliver, not because of local objections, but because of a man. I will name him. This is a fact. Peter Sweetman of The Swans and The Snails Limited, who is based here in Dublin-----
Deputy, you cannot-----
It is a planning fact that he held up this flood defence for years.
Deputy, you can mention the issue but not people's names.
There must be some pre-qualification rules to ensure that someone at the opposite side of the country cannot object-----
Deputy, please-----
-----and cannot hold up a key critical project. The same thing will repeat itself in Cork.
I let the Deputy in on a supplemental question.
This is hugely relevant to people in Cork.
Deputy, you have been allowed to ask a supplemental question at the discretion of the Chair. Please stop mentioning people's names. It is not on to mention people specifically. If you want to mention the issue-----
I mentioned the issue. It is a fact of planning. The point I am making and wish to reiterate is that-----
You cannot reiterate what you have just said. We are out of time now.
I am entitled to another 15 seconds. You interrupted me. The point I wish to conclude on-----
Deputy, please-----
-----is that there is a need for pre-qualification rules. You cannot have someone on the opposite side of Ireland blocking-----
Deputy, you are abusing the privilege I have given you.
I have not broken any rules, with the greatest respect.
I have allowed in three supplemental questions out of discretion. It is unfair to the people who are waiting to ask the questions further down the list which they have tabled-----
My question was relevant.
The issue that the Deputy should be raising should be supplemental in relation to the question.
It is entirely relevant.
I will not use my discretion in the future if that ever continues. I call Deputy Stanton for his supplemental question.
I thank the Ministers and the Government for the reaction to our community in east Cork. It was fast and really welcome. Many people have lost everything. The issue I want to raise relates to spending. Many cars were damaged on the streets because of this unprecedented flooding. Many valuable cars were damaged, some beyond repair. Some had no insurance cover. Will the Government provide some form of assistance there? Cars are very valuable. Also, there are some private bridges and some private property, apart from houses and business, that also need assistance.
There is one more supplemental question from Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan.
I want to reiterate what the two previous speakers have said in regard to the response. People have appreciated it on the ground. I would like to support what Deputy O'Connor said by mentioning that we have done a tour with our local engineers of bridges that have collapsed and sinkholes that have appeared and are likely to reappear in the future given the nature of the landscape of east Cork and the wider area.
I had the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, down in Glenmore Bridge on the edge of the Glanmire-Glounthaune area. The river there was 15 ft higher than it ordinarily would be, so this is a really concerning issue for residents in that area. My question is directly related to additional expenditure that might be incurred for additional mitigation measures that might be taken in the short term. Will the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, clarify whether funding is available for the additional mitigation measures he discussed with residents in the Glashaboy flood relief scheme and whether funding will be forthcoming for those?
I will deal with the last question first. Deputy O'Sullivan was with me in Glanmire when we discussed with the OPW the question of whether mitigating measures can be taken in parallel to the construction of the Glanmire flood relief scheme. Once Cork City Council has completed its assessment of which needs are interim versus long-term - because of the limitations we have on the amount of time we can work on the river - we will certainly look at that.
I will refer Deputy Stanton's issue around car insurance to the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I am aware he has already been discussing it with her, but I will bring it up with her.
I agree with Deputy Cathal Crowe's comments that the Springfield and Ennis schemes show the effectiveness of these schemes. Ennis is the largest town in Munster. These schemes show that when they are built and completed, people can rest easy in their beds.
10. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to report on the progress made to date with respect to the implementation of the Midleton flood relief scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46920/23]
This question is related to the previous one, except it is looking into the future. I acknowledge the Minister of State's work and interest in this area in the past and most recently as well. The implementation of the Midleton flood relief scheme is a matter of great concern to people in the region. They are concerned that what happened last Wednesday, when a rain bomb landed on east Cork, west Waterford and other areas and caused such devastation and damage, will happen again. They want to know what progress has been made, what is the timeline, what is the scale, when are they going to see progress and whether there are any measures that can be enacted in the interim.
The Government launched a national CFRAM programme of 120 new flood relief schemes in 2018. While Midleton was part of this programme, major flooding in 2015 and again in 2016 was the catalyst to commence work on the design of the scheme. Cork County Council, which is leading the design of the scheme, appointed engineering and environmental consultants in 2017. Designing any flood relief scheme is complicated and requires data on flood sources and their associated risks. To date, some 100 schemes are at design and construction stage around the country. Midleton has proven to be one of the most complex schemes. As Deputy Stanton and other Deputies from the constituency will recognise, it has flood risks from four sources; namely, fluvial, tidal, groundwater and pluvial. In 2017 data did not exist on all sources and monitoring was required over a number of years to allow the flooding mechanism to be understood for the design of the scheme.
The need to gather data and the changes in regulatory requirements, including with regard to environmental assessments, increased the scale and scope of the design project. Three public participation days were held in 2017, 2020 and 2022, all of which were very well attended. As well as being a way of engaging with the local community on the scheme’s progress, these events served to gather additional information and assess the community's views on the emerging and more recently preferred option for the Midleton scheme. The preferred scheme has now been identified with a total budget of €50 million, which is three times the original budget from 2017. This highlights the scale of the project’s increase in scope. It also highlights that we have designed a scheme that is robust, supported by strong evidence, has the support of the community and is future-proofed and adaptable to climate change scenarios. The preferred option protects 580 properties against a one-in-100-years flood event, can give back flood insurance to the town and stands up to scrutiny once completed.
Having invested eight years in arriving at a preferred scheme, an assessment following Storm Babet is under way so we know we have a scheme that can meet the standard of protection required by the insurance industry. This assessment will take in the order of six to eight weeks. The next major step is to seek planning consent. Work has already begun on the environmental surveys to allow us to start the planning consent process early in 2024.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. It is optimistic. He might let me know when he expects shovels in the ground, as that is what people want to know. There are also proposals with respect to interim measures. At least two bridges in the Midleton area - Water-rock Bridge and Moore's Bridge, although there are others as well - are severely damaged and could collapse into rivers, causing further problems. There seems to be uncertainty as to who is responsible and can actually pay for their repair because they are on private property and the landowners cannot afford it. There is huge disruption if they are taken out. I have spoken to the Minister of State about this privately, but I ask him to direct his officials to ensure these decisions can be made quickly and without further hesitation and there is clarity with respect to funding. The local authority wants that straightaway. There are real questions that the people of Midleton and east Cork, who are worried about this happening again, want answered. Are there interim measures that can be put in place? When does the Minister of State expect shovels in the ground?
At the meeting we had on Tuesday with Cork County Council, the issue of interim measures was raised with the manager for the southern region of Cork, the director of services and the county engineer. The OPW has asked Cork County Council to assess the town and the flooded areas, including the Water-rock and Ballinacurra areas and the centre of the town, to see if there are interim measures that can be put forward while the scheme is under construction. Once Cork County Council turns that around, we will assess it very quickly. We have also told the council that if additional resources are required in terms of the scheme being brought to tender, and beyond to construction, we will consider that.
I am not going to give the Deputy a date. My priority is to get a successful planning application. The Deputy has often questioned me in this House on other schemes not only in east Cork but in the general CFRAM area. Unfortunately, I cannot give him a date. I can give him a commitment that it still exists as it did the week before the storm when the steering committee met. The money required for Midleton, which has now gone up 300% from the original budget, will be made available by the Government and the Government will do everything in its power to deliver that scheme.
I thank the Minister of State. I acknowledge his personal commitment to this particular area and the problems that have occurred, as well as the commitment he has just given that interim measures will be financed with haste and without any major red tape and bureaucracy.
Will the Minister of State comment on the need into the future - I hope we will not see it - for a more robust early warning system? We had a situation where this rain was anticipated. If people had been told clearly and quickly to get their stock out of the way and to protect their homes and businesses, we may have avoided some of the devastation; not all of it, but some. It is not just Midleton as areas outside the town, including Killeagh, Mogeely, Whitegate and Ladysbridge, were also impacted by the storm. The Minister of State might direct his officials, or indeed the responsible authority, to have a look at those areas.
Before the Minister of State comes back in, there are a number of supplemental questions.
I support my colleague, Deputy Stanton, on this. There is an urgency around getting mitigation measures put in place which the Minister of State will be familiar with. We must wait a period of time before the flood defences can be built. I welcome the funding being made available to progress this as a matter of urgency, but obviously we have to go through the statutory and regulatory barriers first. I am sure the Minister of State will give us his full support in that regard. There is a real urgency around mitigation in the interim in case something occurs in the next few years before these flood defences are built. I was with Councillor William O'Leary in Rathcormack, and it is worth referencing that it is awaiting a decision. It is in tranche 2. I want to see whether it can be brought forward to tranche 1 in order that works can be got under way immediately to protect Rathcormack from flooding as well. There are areas that will require consideration of our flood defences following what happened with Storm Babet. I am certain it is something the Minister of State will continue to engage with Deputy Stanton and me on.
I ask that renewed and special emphasis be placed on the necessity for arterial drainage. It should be focused on as an issue that can have an effect all over the country. The emphasis at the moment is on rewetting. After recent events, the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will agree with me that the country is wet enough right now and that in order to maintain the quality of the soil and to avoid landslides, etc., it is essential to ensure the water gets away as quickly as possible. The policy heretofore has been to slow down the manner in which the water is disposed of. It is necessary now to put in place measures to clean rivers and waterways, improve them where necessary and have an overall national plan to ensure the country is in a position to get rid of the water supply we have at the moment. I hope we can cater for that by way of special emphasis.
I agree with Deputy Durkan. If the arterial drainage provisions had not been in place in the north and eastern part of County Cork, in the Blackwater catchment in particular, we would be dealing with a far greater catastrophe than that with which we are already dealing. To put it in context, seven people lost their lives in Storm Babet in the United Kingdom. We are very lucky that we are not talking about a loss of life event here on the scale of the water bomb that was dropped on Midleton and surrounding areas.
On Deputy Stanton’s question, an early flood warning system is under development by Met Éireann and the OPW is feeding into that. It is on track for delivery. Funding is not an issue in respect of the delivery of the large Midleton flood relief scheme. I told Cork County Council on Tuesday, and I say this to the other Deputies who raised this too, if they believe there are interim measures that will work – there is no point in putting in interim measures just to make people feel well about themselves – to come to us as soon as possible and we will turn that around.
We are having the specific issues which the Deputy raised with me yesterday evening examined by the Department.
11. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform whether, in the context of the public sector pay negotiations, performance review will form part of the negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47018/23]
When does the Minister intend to commence the public sector pay talks? Has he a timeframe for when he would like them to conclude? What period will the pay negotiations cover? Critically, as part of these talks, will he ensure that performance review forms a part of the pay talks?
These are all excellent questions which I will be in a position to answer a little later in relation to the duration of the wage agreement, the issues that will be covered off within it and the policy matters that will be included within it.
To touch on some of the answers I can give at this point, first, I hope to be in a position to engage through my officials with the public sector bodies in the coming weeks in relation to a successor to Building Momentum because I believe that these wage agreements, over many years now, have provided a really important framework for stability in relation to wages and industrial relations within our country that has served us well. I will make every effort to reach agreement and do so in a way that is appropriate and delivers good value for the taxpayer.
On the specific question, which is on performance reviews, every agreement since 2010 has acknowledged the importance of performance management to public service reform and modernisation. In the Croke Park Agreement, the parties committed to significantly improve performance management across the public service. Successive agreements since then have continued to build on this and have strengthened the performance management system within our civil and public service. That has led to the system in place at the moment, namely the performance management and development system, PMDS, which I think has played a meaningful role in allowing staff and managers to align the needs of our public service overall with individual performance.
I welcome the Minister’s confirmation that talks will commence in coming weeks. I agree that wage agreements have provided stability and avoided industrial unrest over recent decades. That is to be welcomed. It is important that these talks are fair and that they deliver value for the taxpayer and that any increases are proportionate, that is, that those in the middle and lower incomes get the greatest increase because those are the people who need it most.
It is critical we have an adequate performance review stitched in. I hear what he said about previous performance reviews over the last years but I am told the performance review categories have reduced from five categories to two. Currently, the only categories for staff appraisal are that they are performing satisfactorily or non-satisfactorily. That is not satisfactory. We need to ensure we have proper appraisals in place for our public sector to ensure that we are also getting value for money.
That is the system that has been in place since 2016. There is pretty binary clarity indicated in whether someone is performing in their job or not. There is merit in that approach. In any case, we have committed to review the system that is in place. In the renewal action plan for the Civil Service which the Government has agreed, action step 3 commits us to a review of the Civil Service performance management policy and culture to look at how we can deal with issues of individual performance. We will have a further look at this next year.
I welcome that because I do not think it is right that it is either satisfactory or non-satisfactory. That does not recognise people who are exceptional, who are working hard and need to be rewarded and equally it does not call out those people who are performing below par. We need a mechanism where people who are performing below par are brought up, encouraged and supported to ensure the public is getting an adequate public service.
Earlier this year, I published a Bill, the Local Authority Public Administration Bill, which would introduce timeframes for when people who contact local authorities can expect to hear back. I hope the Minister could look at taking on some of the elements of that Bill. I hope that would encourage people working in our public sector to realise there is an expectation that when people contact them, they will get an answer in a timely fashion. I welcome the Minister saying today that the performance review element of the public sector negotiations will look at the bizarre situation where someone is either performing satisfactorily or non-satisfactorily.
I take on board the point made by the Deputy. I can see the merits of a more graduated way of doing it. Before I entered public life myself and became a politician, I saw how these performance reviews worked and they were graded. It works very well in other employers. I will make sure this is looked at in the context of the review of the system next year. Return times, that is when clients and customers of public services get a call back or follow up on the issue they raise, should be in place. If it needs legislation to do that, I will look at the legislation Deputy Troy has proposed. I expect the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, is particularly aware of it given his responsibility for local authorities. Other public services have key performance indicators, KPIs, which look at how quickly those who raise issues with our public services get a response. That is the bare minimum that should be in place.
13. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the capital investment in flooding projects associated with flood risk-management that is being provided in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46914/23]
I am taking this on behalf of Deputy O’Dea. This is on reforms in capital investment in flooding projects associated with flood risk assessment being provided in Budget 2023.
The Government has committed €1.3 billion to the delivery of flood relief schemes over the lifetime of the National Development Plan 2021 – 2030 to protect approximately 23,000 properties in communities that are under threat from river and coastal flood risk.
Since 2018, as part of a phased approach to scheme delivery, this funding has allowed the OPW, in partnership with local authorities throughout the country, to triple the number of schemes at design stage to almost 100. In the past five years, the OPW has invested some €300 million in flood relief expenditure. In addition, in 2023, a capital investment of approximately €59 million is anticipated for flood relief measures. The OPW has been allocated sufficient funds to cover these costs. Flood relief schemes, as the Deputy will know, are large and complex multi-annual projects. They require detailed analysis of the sources and causes of flooding. They involve extensive landowner and stakeholder engagement and detailed environmental assessments and mitigation measures. While expenditure on each project in any year is dependent on many variables, the majority of expenditure is incurred during the construction phase.
The costs of completing flood relief schemes has increased in recent years, mainly impacted by a significant rise in construction costs and for other reasons. Procurement practices help to mitigate some of these cost increases. Throughout the scheme-delivery stages, project budgets of schemes are continually monitored and reviewed by OPW. As the overall delivery programme advances, OPW engages with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery, and Reform regarding the capital and current funding required through the annual budget process.
In addition to expenditure relating to flood relief schemes, the OPW minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme provides funding to local authorities to undertake minor mitigation works or coastal protection works, or studies to address localised issues, including coastal protection problems within their administrative areas. This scheme provides 90% funding to local authorities to manage localised risk.
19. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if, given the recent events in Cork, he will outline the steps he is taking to deliver flood relief schemes in order to protect residents, businesses, and local communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47040/23]
I will take an introduction to her question from Deputy Conway-Walsh. I will also take a brief reply.
I appreciate that. There was a bit of a mix-up in the questions. We have talked about flooding all morning. I am looking for an update on the Crossmolina flood relief scheme and when it will commence. I am worried because what I have received from the Department states the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery, and Reform will give statutory consent to the scheme allowing the project team to bring Crossmolina flood relief forward. The people of Crossmolina are still waiting. There is still information going back and forth with regard to this matter. I am also concerned that the timeframe for the scheme will be four years. That is 48 months. The people of Crossmolina cannot wait that long.
The time for construction is limited by the time we are allowed into rivers. I know, for instance, the Deputy's colleague in the Seanad, Senator Boylan, as the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach referred to, has a particular issue with the Arterial Drainage Act and wants to dismantle it. She wants to dismantle our ability to be able to deliver these schemes. I implore the Deputy to ask her Seanad colleague not to go down that route because it will leave many communities in this country in a very vulnerable situation, including those in areas that have already been catered for under the Arterial Drainage Act and those that will be delivered for under that legislation.
I must respond. The Minister of State knows that is an updating of the 1945 Act. There is too much messing going on here. Crossmolina has waited since 2015 when it was flooded out. The people of that town are now being told in 2023 that it will be 2027 before there is flood relief.
I thank the Deputy.
It is completely disingenuous of the Minister of State to deflect from that.
We are over time.
The Minister of State knows that is not the case.
I have been referred to as disingenuous.
We will allow the Minister of State a quick answer.
The people have been waiting since 2012 and will be waiting until 2027.
For the benefit of the House, I will quote from the record of the Seanad.
The people have been waiting since 2012 and will be waiting until 2027.
I am sorry, Deputy.
This is completely disingenuous.
I am sorry, Deputy.
The other Deputy took the time when he was not supposed to.
For the benefit of the House-----
This is too serious a matter.
It is important to point out that the Deputy's Seanad colleague-----
For God's sake.
-----stated: "Ceasing the arterial drainage works would not only benefit biodiversity but would also reduce the risk of flooding in our towns and villages."
Biodiversity is compatible with what needs to be done here. Stop playing games with people. Stop it.
