I have received confirmation that the Draft Feasibility Report will be made available to the OPW and Galway County Council to-day (Monday 31/8/20) by the Consultants.
Following a review of the report by both the OPW and the Council, the findings of the report will be published during the week ending the 25th September 2020.
If a feasible scheme is identified the next steps in the process are:
Prepare Options Assessment Report
Prepare information for public display and consultation
Consult with statutory Bodies
Go to Public Consultation on the Scheme options by the end of 2020.
‘Following all of the above steps, the project will then undergo a five-month Environmental Assessment period’.
It is a long progress which began in 2016, when as Minister of the OPW, I initiated this project.
The Gort Lowlands scheme is unique in that there are a serious of issues which can impact on an engineering solution.
‘We are now approaching a defining moment in the progress of the scheme and I am asking that the scheme should be expedited through the process with the emphasis being on the solution’.
This region has suffered enormous damage to homes, land, roads, farmyards on an ongoing basis every time we have floods and the solution needs to be implemented without any further delay.
‘It is my intention to pursue this project all the way and I compliment the people of the area for their patience thus far. I also acknowledge the positive input of the Local Flood Relief Committee into this project’.