Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Lombard for raising this important matter today. At his invitation and that of Councillor John O'Sullivan and the local election candidate, John Michael Foley, I indeed visited Ring. I met with the residents. On the night in question, the sun was shining and it was, as Councillor O'Sullivan described it, the equivalent of the Italian Riviera. However, there is a very serious flooding issue there. The walls are very old and porous. I committed to following up on the issue with my Department. I have done so and have an update for the Senator today. I understand how important it is to the people of the locality. My Department and the OPW are giving the matter serious consideration. I will just update the Senator.To give background, the minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme was introduced by the OPW on an administrative, non-statutory basis in 2009. The purpose of the scheme is to provide funding to local authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised fluvial flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative areas. The scheme generally applies where a solution can be readily identified and achieved in a short timeframe. The works to be funded are carried out under local authority powers and ongoing maintenance of the completed works is the responsibility of the council, which in this case is Cork County Council.

This is a demand-led scheme and applications are considered for projects that are estimated to cost no more than €750,000 in each instance. Funding of up to 90% of the cost is available for approved projects. Applications are assessed by the OPW having regard to the specific economic, social and environmental criteria of the scheme, including a cost-benefit ratio and having regard to the availability of funding for flood risk management. The original maximum amount was €500,000. This was increased to €750,000 following a review of the scheme in June 2017. A further review of the scheme was undertaken recently and is expected to be completed imminently.

Works that are normally the responsibility of the local authorities are generally not considered for OPW funding. The local authorities must be satisfied that the works will not have a significant impact on flood risk elsewhere and must comply with all environmental regulatory requirements and constraints. The commencement and progression of any works for which funding is approved is a matter for each local authority concerned.

The OPW has approved €64 million across some 900 unique local flood relief projects. Completed projects delivered through the minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme protect some 7,900 properties. Since 2009, the OPW has approved funding under this scheme of approximately €5.7 million to County Cork for some 38 projects. In September 2023, Cork County Council submitted an application for funding under this scheme for a works project to address tidal flooding at the local road L4015-4. That is the Ring road, which we physically saw last Friday evening. It is prone to flooding in excess of depths of 30 cm. Two adjacent private properties have also experienced coastal flooding. In the past, one residential property and one commercial property have flooded at this location. Cork County Council proposes to mitigate coastal flood risk at this location through repairs of the sea wall and installation of non-return valves, as Senator Lombard mentioned.

Further to an initial assessment completed by the OPW of the application, further information from Cork County Council is required to complete the assessment. A request for this information was issued this week to Cork County Council. Funding for these works is available if the proposed works meet the criteria under this scheme. Once received, this further information from Cork County Council that the OPW will receive will be assessed promptly by the OPW having regard to the specific economic, social and environmental criteria of the scheme, including a cost-benefit ratio. We have received the application in September. We carried out an initial assessment with the OPW. We have written to Cork County Council requesting further information to complete the assessment and we await that from Cork County Council. When that information comes back, certainly within my own Department we will be looking to complete the assessment as expeditiously as possible because I know the concern of people locally and more particularly from Senator Lombard as he is from the area.