Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I just wanted that information for background because I want to talk about nature-based solutions and soft engineering. We are very late to the table on this. The briefing documentation supplied to us the OPW says that the development of flood relief schemes under the OPW's capital programme now involves a specific requirement to assess the potential for nature-based solutions as part of the overall solution to managing flood risk. Hard engineering does one thing and in particular instances is very much needed. Waterford city is a great example of hard engineering solutions that have provided a really good outcome in flood mitigation and management. However, such solutions are very expensive. Since when has the OPW begun meeting this specific requirement to assess for nature-based solutions?