Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 November 2018
75. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the cross-Border co-ordination group established in 2009 by the OPW and the UK Department of Infrastructure has a particular programme of work underway or planned at present; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49201/18]
View answerThe EU ‘Floods’ Directive 2007, requires the Member States to undertake a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment to identify the areas of potentially significant flood risk within their territories, to prepare maps of the flood hazard and risk for these areas, and then to prepare Flood Risk Management Plans setting out measures aimed at managing and reducing the flood risk within these areas. The ‘Floods’ Directive also requires Member States to exchange information and coordinate in undertaking these steps in cross-border river basins.
In 2009 the Office of Public Works and the Department for Infrastructure, Rivers of Northern Ireland agreed to establish a Cross-Border Coordination Group, supported by a Cross-Border Technical Coordination Group, to facilitate the exchange of information and coordination in the implementation of the Floods Directive. The Group has met on a number of occasions, and exchanged information and developed a strong awareness of and appreciation for the approaches to implementation to the Directive. The Group has also facilitated close liaison for the assessment of flood risk and planned measures to address that risk for those areas near to the border, for example Lifford in Co. Donegal and Strabane in Northern Ireland.
In addition, representatives from the OPW have attended and participated in relevant meetings in Northern Ireland during the implementation of the Directive. Similarly, representatives from the Department for Infrastructure, Rivers have been members of the Steering Groups for the relevant Catchment-based Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Projects, and are also members of the National Floods Directive Coordination Group that is chaired by the OPW. This has further helped ensure coordination and exchange of information on a regular basis at the strategic and operational levels.
More general cross-border coordination has also been ongoing in the field of flood risk management through bilateral meetings of the two organisations for many years, through the Irish National Hydrometric Working Group and Joint National Committee of the International Hydrological Programme and the International Commission for Irrigation and Drainage that the Department for Infrastructure, Rivers are members of. This continued close co-operation has provided the opportunity for co-operation in areas, such as flood forecasting and hydrometric monitoring.
