Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator very much. It is great to be in the House again. I welcome everyone. No more than myself, it is great to be back. We all work to help people up and down the country.

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I assure him that I am aware of the damage caused by flooding in Killybegs on the night of 23 November and into the morning of 24 November last. I understand that, at their peak, the flood waters rose to approximately 1.2 m and flooded 16 houses and nine business. Following on from this serious event, the OPW met Donegal County Council to review the potential flood relief measures. Donegal County Council and the OPW have worked together to prepare a list of potential flood relief measures and have agreed a pilot scheme to roll out, which will be 100% funded by the OPW. The pilot is being delivered by Donegal County Council, which is tasked with scoping and managing contracts for specialist consultants and contractors who will complete the flood relief works.The pilot will categorise the magnitude of the flooding in 2024 against historic flooding in 2017 and in 2012. Proposed measures will be modelled to assess their benefits and crucially to ensure there is no increased flood risk elsewhere. In the end all proposed works will aid in understanding the delivery of the main flood relief scheme for Killybegs, which is on the flood risk management plan for the county. Advanced works implemented through the pilot scheme will not provide the same standard of protection as the main scheme, but will help to reduce the impact, particularly during lower magnitude floods.

The first phase of these works is now under way. Donegal County Council has been given approval to undertake channel clearance and drainage works and to undertake an assessment of the drainage network together with supply and installation of non-return valves on the council’s owned roads drainage system. Donegal County Council has also been approved to engage consultants to undertake a hydrological review of the CFRAM data, updating it to include the November 2024 event as well as the 2017 event, if possible, such that 2024 and 2017 return periods are estimated and design flows updated accordingly as necessary. This potentially could include a review of the existing topographic sections with a recommendation on what new survey data may be required. The council is to review and prioritise a long list of potential measures that could be achieved on a short- and medium-term basis, informed in part by the consenting requirements for each measure.