Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

I am grateful to Deputy Clune for raising this matter and for her assistance in raising the profile of the draft Lee catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, study, which I launched as a public consultation document in City Hall two days ago, which is a point worth emphasising. The plan remains in draft form at this time. For instance, the plan for the Lee catchment was substantially produced prior to the flooding of November 2009. The extent and severe impact of that flooding are currently being assessed in detail for incorporation into the final version of the plan, along with the substance of submissions received in the context of the public consultation. Nevertheless, the preliminary assessment of the flooding context of the Lee catchment indicates that the contents and proposals within this plan remain valid.

The purpose of issuing the plan now for public consultation is to foreshorten the timeline to the progression and implementation of the works proposed to reduce the risks of flooding set out in the plan. There will continue to be a full opportunity for the public and all stakeholders to review and make submissions on all aspects of the plan before it is finalised. The date in this respect is the end of April.

Nonetheless, it is important to re-emphasise the appropriateness of following the CFRAM approach in the context of the Lee and all other catchments. Since 2004, the Government has adopted a new policy that has shifted the emphasis towards a catchment-based context for managing flood risk, with more proactive risk assessment and management and increased use of non-structural and flood impact mitigation measures. CFRAM studies and their product, catchment flood risk management plans, CFRMPs, are at the core of the new national policy for flood risk management and the strategy for its implementation. This policy is in line with international best practice and meets the requirements of the EU floods directive.

The Lee CFRAMS is the primary pilot project for the national CFRAM programme and among its stated objectives are to assess flood risk through the identification of flood hazard areas and the associated impacts of flooding, identify viable structural and non-structural measures and options for managing the flood risks for localised high-risk areas and within the catchment as a whole, and prepare a strategic CFRMP and associated strategic environmental assessment, SEA, that set out the measures and policies that should be pursued by local authorities. Also, the OPW is to achieve the most cost effective and sustainable management of flood risk within the Lee catchment.

The methodology adopted for the Lee CFRAMS has been thorough and to a level of detail appropriate for the development of a flood risk management plan. It has included the collection of survey data and the assembly and analysis of meteorological, hydrological and tidal data, which have been used to develop a suite of hydraulic computer models. Flood maps are one of the main outputs of the study and are the way in which the model results are communicated to each of the end users. Where flood risks are significant, the study has identified a range of potential flood risk management options to manage them, including structural options such as flood walls and embankments and non-structural options such as flood forecasting and development control.

The CFRMP does not aim to provide solutions to all of the flooding problems that exist in the catchment. That would be neither feasible nor sustainable. Rather, it identifies viable structural and non-structural options for managing the flood risks within the catchment as a whole and for localised high-risk areas. There is a wide range of options laid out in the draft plan, many of which are interrelated or dependent on particular strategies being adopted. It is not possible at this early stage to indicate which set of options will be selected for implementation, nor would it be appropriate to do so in advance of the completion of the public consultation and stakeholder review of the draft plan.

The budgeted provision for the Office of Public Works, OPW, in terms of flood relief activities, capital works, drainage maintenance and hydrometric activities in 2010 has been raised to €68.3 million. This is a significant increase from the provision of recent years. In 2004, the provision for such services was €36.4 million. Accordingly, the annual provision for like for like services has been increased by the Government by 188% over a seven-year period.

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