Brian Stanley: Flood Relief Schemes Delayed Until 2033
Brian Stanley spoke about repeated flooding in Port Arlington and Mount Malik and criticised the long delays to planned flood relief schemes. He said the schemes were taking between 15 and 17 years to complete, with Mount Malik not expected until 2031 and Port Arlington until 2033, and called for acceleration.
He said both Port Arlington and Mount Malik were flooded again at the weekend and recalled the serious flooding in 2017 that led to planned relief schemes. He reported meeting two pensioners whose house was flooded again, stressing the human cost of the delays.
He noted the flood relief schemes were decided after the 2017 floods and that Leash County Council is trying to advance them. He highlighted that, because of procedural hoops, schemes are taking between 15 and 17 years, with Mount Malik currently at the Commission on Plan Ola and earliest completion dates of 2031 and 2033 for Mount Malik and Port Arlington respectively.
He said the Commission on Plan Ola has been resourced and is now statutorily bound to give timelines for decisions. He also reported that the Minister of Public Expenditures will bring measures to government in the coming weeks aimed at accelerating infrastructure development, and that there is commitment in the programme for the government, public expenditure and the OPW to progress the schemes.
He argued that where flood relief schemes have been constructed they have been effective, citing a report on Storm Amy which found built schemes largely worked. He used this to underline the urgency of delivering remaining projects.
He urged that many studies be done in parallel to shorten delivery times and called flood protection a key piece of infrastructure. He described the current timeframes as excessive and insisted on faster action to protect affected communities.
Flood incidents and local impact
He said both Port Arlington and Mount Malik were flooded again at the weekend and recalled the serious flooding in 2017 that led to planned relief schemes. He reported meeting two pensioners whose house was flooded again, stressing the human cost of the delays.
Planned schemes and timelines
He noted the flood relief schemes were decided after the 2017 floods and that Leash County Council is trying to advance them. He highlighted that, because of procedural hoops, schemes are taking between 15 and 17 years, with Mount Malik currently at the Commission on Plan Ola and earliest completion dates of 2031 and 2033 for Mount Malik and Port Arlington respectively.
Regulatory and administrative measures
He said the Commission on Plan Ola has been resourced and is now statutorily bound to give timelines for decisions. He also reported that the Minister of Public Expenditures will bring measures to government in the coming weeks aimed at accelerating infrastructure development, and that there is commitment in the programme for the government, public expenditure and the OPW to progress the schemes.
Effectiveness of completed schemes
He argued that where flood relief schemes have been constructed they have been effective, citing a report on Storm Amy which found built schemes largely worked. He used this to underline the urgency of delivering remaining projects.
Calls for acceleration of work
He urged that many studies be done in parallel to shorten delivery times and called flood protection a key piece of infrastructure. He described the current timeframes as excessive and insisted on faster action to protect affected communities.
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Transcript
At the weekend, the towns of Port Arlington and Mount Malik were flooded again for the umptium time. There's flood relief schemes planned in both towns and these were decided on after the serious flooding in both towns after 2017. That's eight years ago and work is ongoing and Leash County Council are doing their part in trying to advance those schemes as quickly as possible. But because of all the different hoops that these schemes have to go through, the schemes are taken between 15 and 17 years. Now I think we all can agree that that is too long. It's a ridiculous amount of time. The Mount Malik scheme has gone to Commission on Plan Ola at the moment and that's welcome and hopefully they can make a decision soon. But as things stand, the Mount Malik scheme won't be done until the earliest 2031. And the Port Arlington scheme you're looking at 2033. That's a crazy situation. A huge amount of the studies to be done. The studies need to be done in parallel. There's commitment in the programme for the government to move on to these schemes, public expenditure and the OPW and try and get these schemes underway. Because I was with two pensioners last night, their house is flooded again at the weekend. Thank you Deputy and I do again last Friday. Thank you Deputy and I do empathise with you and I fully agree that the flooding schemes take an inordinate length of time. We have improved, we have resourced the Commission on Plan Ola, it's now statutorily bound to give timelines for the issuing of decisions. The Minister of Public Expenditures is coming to government in the next number of weeks in respect of measures that will accelerate the infrastructure development in the country. To me flood protection is a key infrastructure that's required. Where we have implemented flood relief schemes, they have been very effective. In fact, the report back on Storm Amy was that the flood relief schemes where they have been constructed and built have worked, by and large. And so there is an urgency. Deputy Paul Lawless, thank you Deputy Paul Lawless.