Delay in €8m flood prevention scheme a setback for Glanmire

An €8m flood prevention plan for a Cork satellite town has been delayed because a review is being undertaken of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and it also awaits sanction from the minister for public expenditure and reform.

The delay in the Glashaboy Flood Relief Scheme will be a setback for scores of householders and business owners in Glanmire who suffered from serious flooding on June 28, 2012.

The delay was notified to Senator Colm Burke after he questioned minister in charge of the OPW, Kevin “Boxer” Moran, on the process.

Mr Moran said the flood relief scheme has been submitted by the Office of Public Works to the minister for public expenditure and reform for formal confirmation under the Arterial Drainage Acts.

He said the approval process can take up to six months.

Independent specialists are also being asked to review the EIA report submitted as part of the scheme documentation.

Mr Moran said this will be the final element of the planning process for the scheme, after which the procurement process will commence to bring the scheme to construction stage.

However, he didn’t give a timeframe for this to be wound up. It had been hoped that construction would already be underway.

Mr Burke said that while he welcomed the fact that progress had been made, he was “disappointed that six years after serious flooding occurred there are still procedures which have to be completed before the major works can be carried out”.

He said he will be meeting Mr Moran later this month to get an update on how the scheme is progressing.

However, Mr Burke says he believes it is now likely to be next September before construction work will get under way.