'The people of Cork deserve better': Minister keen to progress flood relief scheme for city
Flooding in Pembroke Street in Cork after an early morning high tide last year. Picture Dan Linehan
“People in Cork, the second city deserve better than that,” the Minister for Office of Public Works Patrick O’Donovan has said in support of the Morrisons Island Public Realm and Flood Defence Project.
Cork City Council recently issued pre-qualification tender documents for the first phase of the city's flood relief scheme.
These documents seek to form a panel of contractors who will be invited to tender for the works later in the year and could see the construction of the long-delayed scheme, which is designed to protect the city centre from regular flooding commence in the autumn.
Minister O’Donovan, speaking at the signing of contracts fr the Bantry Floof Relief Scheme, said Cork city needs to be defended from regular flooding.
“It is part of a massive overall plan that we have for the Lower Lee Flood Relief Scheme. Everybody in Cork knows my views in relation to the urgency of Cork’s flood defences to be protected.
"Morrisons Island is part of it. Ann Doherty the CEO of the Cork City Council and her team together with the Office of Public Works has designed a comprehensive plan that will act as a flood relief scheme and will transform the city centre,” he said.
The scheme has gone through full public consultation, review, approval by Council and An Bord Pleanála.
Minister O’Donovan who attended UCC said he has great sympathy for people affected by flooding in Cork city.
“People in Cork, the second city deserve better than that. Our role as the agency with responsibility for delivering to those people is to give them a better quality of life and we want to get on with it. All of the delays is heartbreaking for those people. My priority is to see this over the line and to give these people some degree of hope,” he added.
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