The Government has allocated a total of €61m for the Haulbowline Island remediation project in Cork.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, welcomed the announcement and said the completion of the work is "crucial".

He said: "While analysis, testing, design and enabling works have been continuing we can now look forward to the core remediation work at Haulbowline Island including remediation of the East Tip, former steelworks factory site and south tip.

-- Advertisement --

"The next phase of the project, following the agreement of my Cabinet colleagues, is the most complex phase to date and is expected to take approximately six months to complete, following the appointment of Consultants.

"This will lead to commencement of initial elements of the core remediation 'clean-up' phase on site, by late 2015. This work will intensify into 2016 and 2017 with significant progress towards completion of the project expected by late 2017.

"There will be significant construction activity on the island, it will bring substantial benefits to the local economy and transform the Island into a genuine national infrastructural asset."

(CD/JP)