Laois took centre stage in Government buildings last week as the Mountmellick and Portarlington Flood Relief Schemes came under the spotlight.
Chairperson of the Office of Public Works (OPW), John Conlon, and Head of Flood Management, Jim Casey appeared before the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
The pair were grilled by Sinn Féin’s Laois/Offaly TD Brian Stanley – An Cathaoirleach of PAC.
Deputy Stanley said that 7 years after Mountmellick flooded it’s “incredible’’ that the scheme is stuck at Stage 1 of a 5 stage process.
The Mountmellick Flood Relief Scheme is currently at the preliminary design stage, with construction due to commence in July 2025 and an estimated construction time of three years.
Portarlington’s Flood Relief Scheme is also at the preliminary design stage, and is on schedule to submit for planning permission in February 2025.
Construction of the Portarlington scheme is to commence in the middle of July 2026 and also carries an estimated construction time of three years.
“I understand what happens when you stop water from flooding one part of a town,” Deputy Stanley said.
“In Mountmellick, for example, if you move it from Manor Road, you could finish up with it down in Acragar. There can be unintended consequences.
“I understand that the planning process must be carefully done. Public exhibition and confirmation can take 24 months, and detailed design can take 12 months. The average length of construction is 36 months and handover of works can take 12 months.
“That means it takes 11 years, assuming everything goes according to plan. Mountmellick was badly flooded in November 2017, which is almost seven years ago, and there is not a shovel in the ground, to put it simply.
“I hope I am wrong, but it would not be an exaggeration to say that this could drag on for 13 or 14 years. Houses and businesses on Manor Road, Derrycloney, Moore Street and Patrick Street were damaged.
“What can be done to shorten this, because it is not acceptable that we could be waiting 12 or 13 years for a scheme to come in for Mountmellick and Portarlington, which was also flooded that day.”
Head of Flood Management, Mr Casey responded saying: “There are measures you can bring forward to solve problems more quickly, maybe where problems are more easily defined and less complex.
“There may be multiple sources of flooding. We must undertake detailed analysis and develop sophisticated hydrological and hydraulic modelling.
“Subsequently, we have to come up with a scheme that will actually solve the problem and will stand up to judicial reviews, legal challenges and so on.”
Deputy Stanley pressed the issue, saying: “Unfortunately, due to climate change, rainfall levels are getting more intense. People in the towns are paying close attention to the weather forecasts.
“After seven years, the project is stuck at stage 1. What I am being told this morning is incredible. What will the OPW do to advance this scheme?”
Mr Casey there were “a lot of issues” with the scheme.
“Its scale changed once it got into the early stages of design,” he said.
“The problem became a much bigger one. There were influences from upstream bridge structures. It became a much more complex scheme than was envisaged in the early stages.
“This is something that often happens with flood relief schemes. At the preliminary stage, a scheme may appear to be straightforward but when we get into the detailed analysis and design.
“Much of what has delayed the scheme has been addressed. It should move forward at a much faster pace from now on.”
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