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LABOUR HAVE CALLED on the government to address the failure to deliver a flood relief scheme in Cork City.
It follows a new investigation published today by The Journal Investigates which found that the Office of Public Works (OPW) has spent over €13m on the design and consultation of a controversial flood defence project in Cork in the past eight years.
Despite this, a final design for the Lower Lee Flood Relief Scheme (LLRFS) has yet to be decided.
Construction on the project will also not begin until mid-2027, leaving the city susceptible to flooding.
Labour Senator Laura Harmon said “it’s disappointing to see yet another example of overspend by the OPW, particularly given the enormous sums spent before any construction has commenced”. She added:
We need to see investment in flood relief for Cork but we need to be able to trust that public funds are being managed efficiently.
Two major floods hit Cork in recent memory, first in 2009 and again in 2014, highlighting the need for improvement in flood defences.
Between both floods, a reported €140m of damage was caused in Cork.
But almost 20 years since it was first proposed, a flood defence scheme for the city has yet to be agreed.
“Unfortunately, this project has been marked by a distinct failure to provide progress reports to elected representatives and the general public,” Harmon said.
A spokesperson for the OPW said “these costs are attributed to the engineering and environmental requirements which are required and necessary for the planning process.”
They added that “the costs of the design stage element is reflective of the scale of the project and the overall proposed expenditure on the Lower Lee Flood Relief Scheme.”
The LLRFS has proved controversial in Cork, with a bitter public debate leading to several redesigns and refinements.
Save Cork City, a campaign group opposed to the project, have consistently argued that the project will not work and the views of the river in some places will be obstructed.
Instead, the group proposed a tidal barrier downstream of the city as an alternative solution, saying it was more cost-effective and protected the city’s historical aspects.
The OPW have said that the project does not propose building high walls along the river and maintains that the works will not block the river from view.
They also claim that a tidal barrier is “neither viable or appropriate for Cork”.
Harmon said “we need to see the best flood protection for Cork which also maintains the aesthetic of the City. This can be and should be done both on time and on budget”.
“We know that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have a very poor track record on delivering public infrastructure projects on time and on cost, so I do hope that the new Minister will be able to grasp the nettle once and for all,” she added.
The Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, has been contacted for comment.
Once the final design is agreed by the OPW, a public consultation will be held later this year.
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Conor O’Carroll is an investigative reporter with The Journal Investigates.
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some craic carrying a big bag of cash across O’Connell Street on a regular basis nowadays..
@kjholt: Same goes no matter where you are. Times are different all over the place.
@Gary: but O’Connell St. is especially dodgy..
I met Arthur when he took a photo of me as an art student with my boyfriend as we crossed O’Connell bridge in 79, he struck me as a man who just loved doing what he did, I still come across that photo every now and again it has maybe just a little too much denim and patches, but it always makes me smile.
Never forget where ye came from.
@Paul Mc Manus: where do you come from Paul
@Casper: He can’t remember, obviously.
A fascinating article. I remember this chap on OConnell bridge and a line of people looking to be photographed. There are a lot of good memories in those photos before social media ruined the innocents and now you get what people had for dinner and nonsensical twottle.
A picture paints a thousand words
Your one on her way to her date looks very stylish. love black and white photographs.
I have a picture taken by Arthur of my grandparents and grand aunt taken in Oct 1944. Treasured piece of family history.
Nice gift for Christmas
This is a fascinating project on the history of a photographer taking pictures of ordinary people going about their daily business, it’s lovely looking at old pictures like this I always think to myself we are just one generation passing through this journey of life, every one has a story to tell in these pictures
A nice little nostalgia piece.
I have two photos taken by him on O Connell St in around 1970 which I cherish.
Status quo look well in pic 2
@Sean Lynch: Jack Nicholson easy rider on the right
@Sean Lynch: Well said
I have a lovely photo taken by him on O’Connell Bridge of me and my future husband.
He took my grandparents’ photo, my parents’ and mine in his time. I remember he took mine outside Burger King on O’Connell Street, which was less glamorous than the O’Connell bridge photos of my parents and grandparents. Still, we had an interesting conversation about Mike Tyson in particular, and boxing in general. What a fascinating man he was. I must dig up my photo.
Pretty sure he captured a shot of George Harrison as a child with his Mam crossing the bridge too!
@Brian Mulligan: https://elzorrerofilms.wordpress.com/
Can’t we Photoshop in a few black dudes, you know, for ‘diversity’?
A true legend of Dublin with amazing black & white photographs catching life as it was in the city. Problem is that todays family photographs taken on digital cameras and mobile phones will probably never be transferred into print for future generations to see.
Interesting to see the old single-decker bus with the driver in a compartment up front, and Nelson’s Pillar.
those Dufficy women had walked an awful long way from Roscoomon before he snapped them
@Christy Morrison: the walk wasn’t too bad, it’s pushing the prams from Tulsk that was tough going.
Great character remember him through the 60s and 70s when I lived in Dublin. O actually got a photo taken with my date in 1974
He used to trip the flash first to get your attention and think you’d had your photo taken. Then once he got you to stop and pay the fee he’d take it again. A character, of his time.
How long would it take to get from Limerick to Dublin back Then?
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