I thank all the Senators who contributed, as well as the proposers of the motion. I welcome the fact that so many Senators have chosen to stay. Unfortunately, all of the Opposition Senators have left, which probably says a lot about their interest in this topic. I welcome the opportunity to address this House on flooding matters and thank Senators for raising this important issue. The motion covers many issues and I will try to address as many of them as I can in the time that has been allocated. The Government has…

I welcome the budget allocation for the Office of Public Works, OPW, for 2022, an allocation of over €579 million. That comprises €142 million for flood risk management, an increase of 12%, and €452 million for estate management. I pay tribute to the staff of the OPW who during the pandemic have managed to maintain a full service on behalf of the OPW and who operate in this House to provide services to the staff and Members of the House. We hope to commence six major flood relief schemes during 2022, together with …

I am taking the Commencement debate on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Feighan, who sends his apologies. I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. Family carers are the backbone of care provision across the country. Whether caring for a child or a parent with a disability or illness or an elderly family member, carers, through their selfless hard work, knowledge and compassion, enhance the quality of life of the most vulnerable in our society on a daily basis. The pro…

The Government is committed to improving the supports for carers. Nobody disputes the Senator's bone fides in this. We all deal with these in our constituencies on a weekly basis. The Government is committed to improving services for family carers to enable them to continue caring in confidence and the continued implementation of the cross-departmental national carers' strategy. The programme for Government commits to providing a carer’s guarantee, ensuring a core basket of services is available to carers across th…

The Minister and I visited Bantry after the devastating flood last year. We are both well aware of the torment the town faced at that time. The reality is that interventions cannot come soon enough for Bantry. The flood risk management plan was launched in May 2018 and includes a recommendation to progress the project-level development and planning of a flood defence scheme for the town. A steering group comprising representatives of the Office of Public Works and Cork County Council is in place to progress the Ban…

The Deputy will be aware that during and since the summer of 2020, I have had a number of opportunities to visit the west Cork area - not just Bantry, but also Clonakilty, Bandon, Skibbereen and Rosscarbery. In the intervening period, I have met the Cork county manager and his team to follow up on what exactly has been done in the interim period. The commissioner of the OPW with responsibility for flooding and the director of flood relief and responsibility for the OPW have also been constantly monitoring the progr…

From my perspective, and I am on the record of the House as making the point, when the State, through the Exchequer and the taxpayers, puts large sums of money into protecting communities from flooding, whether in Mallow, Fermoy or elsewhere in County Cork, in Clonmel in County Tipperary or in any other town in the country, and these investments are proven to work, there is a reciprocal expectation that Insurance Ireland will pony up and allow those communities to get on with their lives. I have raised this issue w…

Where schemes work and have been finished for years, as a citizen, taxpayer and representative of the people, I would expect that Insurance Ireland would provide insurance. Where that is not the case, I think it is a legitimate question-----

That is not a matter for the OPW. Those working at the OPW are engineers, not underwriters. It is not our job to assess insurance. That is the responsibility of an entirely different part of the Government.

Where we finish schemes, we do so with local authorities. Where schemes are finished, and there is plenty of evidence of this around the country, that is a legitimate question that needs to be asked. However, it is one for an entirely different Department. Insurance Ireland has a role to play in this. There needs to be a bit of honesty attached to it. Where hundreds of millions of euro - in fact, billions of euro - are being spent by multiple agencies of the State to defend people, those people are entitled to legi…

I understand from the Commissioners of Public Works that works are continuing on the external walls of Barryscourt Castle. The conservation nature of this project requires the use of heritage products and traditional lime mortar, which requires painstaking attention to detail and expert craftsmanship. The OPW is on target to complete its programme for 2021, which will leave 50% of the south wall and 50% of the east wall completed. It is expected that the regrouting of the south wall and east wall will be completed …

The answer is "Yes". We had a meeting with the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Noonan, to discuss the broader issue yesterday. We are engaged with Fáilte Ireland on the whole issue of how we look at our estate and at the responsibilities we have. As the Deputy will know, during the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to support I received from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, I initiated a programme across the entire OPW estate, offering free admission las…

Due to the nature of the work the OPW does, social distancing and public health issues have meant that we have been put offsite twice, which has been desperately frustrating. I know the Deputy and other public representatives in the east Cork area would like this to be put on the record of the House. Last year OPW outdoor staff in Barryscourt came to the rescue when a group of local nuns in the St. Benedict's Priory in Cobh needed apples. At that time Barryscourt came to the attention of many people in the east Cor…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As she is aware, on the night of 8 and 9 February 2020, extensive damage was caused to Carlow Castle following Storm Ciara. Subsequent investigations led to the discovery that the base of the collapse was constructed on clay foundations. This had major consequences for the safe repair and reconstruction of this section of the wall. The Office of Public Works is in the final stages of rebuilding the collapsed area of the tower. Once the steelwork is down, the OPW can comple…

As I said in a previous response to Deputy Stanton, I met yesterday with the Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, to discuss the issue of properties for which the OPW is responsible. These are owned by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage but we have responsibility for managing their maintenance and preservation. I have opened discussions with the Minister and I hope to engage with Fáilte Ireland and the Local Government Management Agency, which are the agencies with ultimate responsibility …

I am sure Deputy Murnane O'Connor will acknowledge that we made a significant investment recently in County Carlow through the dolmen project, which I am glad has finally been finished. I hope to be able to see it when I go there within the next few weeks. Every Deputy in the House performed a tour de force recently in looking for money from my senior colleague, the Minister, Deputy McGrath. I may as well do so now on behalf of the OPW. I ask for any assistance he can give me to find money for Deputy Murnane O'Conn…

The rent being paid by the OPW in respect of the offices at block 1, Miesian Plaza is in accordance with the terms of the lease as set out. However, the OPW has acknowledged that an error occurred and that it should have engaged with the landlord and sought to recalibrate the rental rate as a result of the new measurement standard, international property management standard 3, IPMS 3, introduced in early 2016. The error should not have happened and from my discussions with the Commissioners of the OPW, I know they …

As I said the last time this matter was raised in the House, it is important to point out that I am not in any way condoning what happened in this matter. This was an error and it is not to my acceptance or that of the OPW. We want to remedy it and make sure we move forward with as good a relationship as possible with the landlord. To that end, I have met the Chairman of the Office of Public Works on a number of occasions to see how we can best move forward on this issue. The best available route to do so is, as th…

I can give the Deputy a commitment and I have already taken action, in that I have already, on numerous occasions, met the Chairman and Commissioners of the OPW specifically on this issue. Neither the Chairman nor I want the matter hanging over the OPW as an organisation. It is an isolated issue. It is important to point out that the Office of Public Works is a competent organisation that deals with leases valued in excess of €100 million for the benefit of the Civil Service and public service across a range of age…

I did not interrupt the Deputy and I ask that she not try to shout me down. As I said, this is an isolated issue. I am confident, as the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, having come in to the organisation last July and having reviewed the work, that the OPW is a modern, progressive and fit for purpose organisation. This is an issue but I am dealing with it. The commissioners and the chairman are dealing with it. I have given a commitment to the House. The landlord has given an opportunity. I canno…