Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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30. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the measures that will be undertaken by the Office of Public Works in 2018 to alleviate flooding caused by the River Erne in County Cavan due to the damage caused by such flooding over recent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2130/18]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The River Erne, which rises in County Cavan and flows from County Fermanagh into County Donegal, causes major flooding in Cavan. One problem relating to drainage comes from a channel between upper and lower Lough Erne in County Fermanagh. I urge the Minister of State to maintain ongoing contact with the authorities in Northern Ireland to bring forward a scheme which will benefit the citizens of both County Fermanagh and County Cavan.

Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)
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The Erne catchment is being assessed under the Office of Public Works and co-operation with the river section in the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. This co-operation is part of the joint implementation of the EU flood directive, and therefore the Erne catchment in both Ireland and Northern Ireland is fully assessed as part of the CFRAM study.

On the Erne catchment, CFRAM preliminary flood risk assessment undertaken in 2011 identified Cavan town and Ballyconnell in County Cavan and Ballybay in County Monaghan as areas for further assessment, and these are being assessed as part of the North Western-Neagh Bann CFRAM study. This includes public consultation on the draft flood maps, which was held in spring 2015, on the options in the spring of 2016, and on the draft plans in autumn 2016. The structural options for Cavan town and Ballybay are proposed in a draft flood risk management plan, and Ballyconnell has been assessed as having a very low risk of flooding. The plans set out the other measures to address the flood risk in the River Erne catchment. The final plans are undergoing independent review of strategy level environmental assessment by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Once the review has been carried, we will publish it in the coming weeks.