Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This question refers to the amount spent on flood defence schemes in each of the past ten years. That is the question I propose to answer.

The Office of Public Works, OPW, as the lead agency for flood risk management, is co-ordinating the delivery of measures towards meeting the Government's national flood risk policy. In 2018, to establish those communities that are at risk from significant flood events, the OPW completed the largest study of flood risk ever undertaken by the State, namely, the catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, programme. The CFRAM programme studied 80% of Ireland's primary flood risk and identified solutions that can protect over 95% of that risk. Some 150 additional flood relief schemes were identified through the programme.

The Government has committed a budget of €1.3 billion to the delivery of these schemes over the lifetime of the national development plan, NDP, to 2030 to protect approximately 23,000 properties in communities that are currently under threat from river and coastal flood risk. Since 2018, a phased approach to scheme delivery, in partnership with local authorities, has allowed the OPW to treble the number of schemes at design or construction stages at this time to some 100 schemes. As well as a financial commitment to meet costs, progressing this significantly increased number of flood relief schemes requires capacity and capability in highly specialised areas of engineering such as hydrology. Expenditure in the earlier stages of a project, that is, scoping, scheme development and preliminary design, planning process, and detailed design, represents a small proportion of the overall budget of a flood relief scheme. Schemes at construction, or stage 4 of the project, incur the greatest level of expenditure. There is no legislative or regulatory means of fast-tracking schemes to that stage.

Since 2014, €544 million has been invested in flood relief measures by the Office of Public Works.  The breakdown, as requested by the Deputy, is as follows: €43.5 million in 2014; €48.3 million in 2015; €51.8 million in 2016; €45.3 million in 2017; €64.6 million in 2018; €58.2 million in 2019; €63.2 million in 2020; €55.6 million in 2021; €54.6 million in 2022; and €59.2 million in 2023.

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