It is almost impossible to predict the kind of extreme rainfall which has caused flooding in some Irish towns in recent years, TDs have been told.
During an appearance at the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), senior officials from the Office of Public Works (OPW) came under pressure to outline what is being done to protect homes in places like Skibbereen, Co Cork and Bridgetown, Co Wexford which have been hit by flooding caused by heavy downpours.
The OPW has responsibility for Ireland’s flood defences and managing State properties.
Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan asked about value-for-money measures in place when it comes to flood prevention projects, and what happens if the design of such projects is not effective.
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OPW chairman Maurice Buckley said he was not aware of such cases.
Ms Hourigan highlighted Skibbereen in Co Cork, which flooded in 2009, had major prevention works costing almost €35 million since then, and saw flooding again in 2020.
Jim Casey, the OPW’s head of flood risk management, said the project in the town was substantially complete and providing 100 per cent of the intended protection it was designed for.
He said the flooding there in 2020 on the N71 road was “pluvial” – related to a lack of capacity in the existing drainage system.
The PAC was told that this type of flooding was outside the scope of the OPW’s flood relief scheme, which was designed to deal with fluvial flooding related to the river breaking its banks.
Mr Casey rejected a suggestion from Ms Hourigan that the scheme had failed given that the 2020 flood event occurred, as it had not been caused by river flooding the OPW works were designed to prevent.
Ms Hourigan said people in Skibbereen had been told there were millions of euro spent on protecting the town from flooding. She asked what measures were in place to prevent a future occurrence.
Mr Casey said the OPW is engaging with Cork County Council to understand the nature of the 2020 flood and if further measures are needed “we will ensure they are brought forward”.
This was very intense and extreme rainfall, and of a nature that’s almost impossible to predict
Mr Buckley said the flood was caused by “an incredible downpour of rain” adding: “That can’t be predicted and it’s going to happen, I’m afraid, more and more often.”
Wexford Independent TD Verona Murphy highlighted the floods in Bridgetown last Christmas Day, and told the OPW that its monitoring stations did not work to predict that.
Mr Casey said “This was very intense and extreme rainfall and of a nature that’s almost impossible to predict”.
He outlined how flood barriers have been ordered for the area, though some may not be in place until early 2023 and the local authority has also ordered a study on flood prevention for the area.
The OPW separately defended what has been described as a €1.32 million “overpayment” to the operators of the Convention Centre Dublin (CCD).
The Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy told the committee that the State makes annual “unitary” payments to the operators under the public-private partnership (PPP) deal for the CCD.
However, if there is a shortfall in the number of international delegates attending conferences, the State can deduct a small portion of this payment.
Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions the operators did not reach the minimum target for overseas delegates between August 2020 and July 2022.
Mr McCarthy said €1.32 million was due for withholding for the period but the OPW paid the full unitary payment without the deduction.
He said: “In my view this represents an overpayment of the amount due under the contract.”
Sinn Féin TD Imelda Munster argued that the situation was a “farce”.
The OPW’s head of estate management Martin Bourke said the issue is “extremely complex” and referred to how the Government had stopped international travel due to the Covid crisis and “the whole convention business stopped”.
It’s important that we get this correct. We don’t want to be in legal complex disputes that cost money
Ms Munster accused the OPW of being “lackadaisy” with taxpayers’ money.
Mr Buckley rejected this saying it is correct legal practice to make such payments while a contractual dispute is being dealt with.
He said there were another 14 years to go in the contract, and that “it’s important that we get this correct. We don’t want to be in legal complex disputes that cost money”.
Mr Buckley added: “We will get this correct.”
He said there was a balance to be struck, and that he had to look at the overall CCD project “and its success and building delegate numbers, so that when this comes back to the State in 14 years’ time, it is a healthy business that the State can then pick up”.
