Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)

The Government has committed to investing a sum of €81 million for the design and implementation of flood relief schemes for County Kerry. Tralee, Kenmare, Abbeydorney and Banna are all in the first tranche of schemes to be progressed, with Dingle, Killarney, Ballylongford, Listowel, Castleisland-Tullig in the second tranche.

Engineering and environmental consultants were appointed in quarter 3 2021 to deliver a flood relief scheme for Tralee. Emerging options are scheduled to be identified in quarter 4 2025 and will be made available to the public for consultation. It is expected that this scheme will be submitted for planning in quarter 4 2026.

Engineering and environmental consultants were appointed in quarter 2 2022 to deliver a flood relief scheme for Kenmare. Assessing the flood risk in Kenmare is complex and it is expected the design option will be made available to the public for consultation in mid-2026. Works on the Finnihy river were completed in early 2024 to mitigate the flood risk.

While the Listowel scheme is not in the first tranche of projects to be progressed, the OPW, through Kerry County Council, is investing €2 million for advance measures. Following a flood event in Listowel in November 2024, Kerry County Council engaged consultants to provide a report on the flood event. The findings were presented to Kerry Municipal District on 30 April 2025 and are now available to the public. Kerry County Council has discussed the findings of this report with the OPW. The council recently requested the consultant to assess the delivery programme for the recommended short-term measures, including rising the embankments at Killacrim. Once complete, this assessment, which may require hydraulic modelling, will inform a meeting with the OPW in the coming weeks to discuss implementation and funding mechanisms for any viable measures. Any requirement for environmental assessments for these works will inform the timeline for their delivery.

See this speech in context