Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 April 2024
74. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to outline the progress made to date with respect to flood relief schemes for Castlemartyr and Mogeely, County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15630/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am aware of the devastating impact flooding has had to home owners, businesses and the communities of Castlemartyr and Mogeely during Storm Babet, with both residential and commercial property flooding in Castlemartyr and the Gleann Fia housing estate flooding in Mogeely.
The Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management or CFRAM Programme, the largest study of flood risk in the state, was completed by the OPW in 2018. The output from this study was the Flood Risk Management Plans that are providing the evidence for a proactive approach for designing and constructing flood relief schemes for the most at-risk communities.
It is not possible to progress all 150 flood relief schemes identified by these Plans simultaneously, due to the limited availability of the professional and specialised engineering skills required to design and construct flood relief schemes. While the prioritised approach to delivering schemes means that work is complete or underway to protect some 80% of all at risk properties, nationally, the flood relief project for Castlemartyr, which is planned to include Mogeely, is not in the first tranche of projects being progressed. The Government is committed to funding this scheme as part of the €1.3bn for flood relief measures under the National Development Plan.
Pending the commencement of the design work for this scheme, Cork County Council can introduce localised flood mitigation measures with funding from the OPW Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme. The details of this scheme are available on the OPW website.
Cork County Council has recently submitted an updated application to the OPW for Castlemartyr. The application consists of proposed works, which includes increasing the height of the wall upstream of Castlemartyr Bridge and cleaning, widening and deepening the river to improve flood conveyance. The OPW have reviewed this application and have requested further information from Cork County Council, which will be reviewed when submitted.
I have been advised that Cork County Council is currently preparing an application to the scheme for interim flood risk mitigation works at Gleann Fia and at other locations in Mogeely. I understand that Cork County Council are considering all possible solutions to mitigate against flooding in that area.
