Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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25. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the progress being made on flood alleviation measures in Foynes and Askeaton in County Limerick; his plans to carry out further works on the River Shannon embankments in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40403/15]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The provision of flood defences in Foynes is being undertaken by Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) with funding from the Office of Public Works (OPW). The Council has developed a scheme which has been approved under Part Viii of the Planning and Development Regulations. The Council is currently progressing the procurement of a civil works contractor to undertake the scheme works and is expecting to appoint a contractor shortly. The Scheme is expected to be completed in the summer of 2016.

Limerick City & County Council applied to the OPW for funding in Askeaton in 2013 and was subsequently approved for funding on 31 March, 2015 of €30,000 under the Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme (Coastal) for the appointment of consultants to design proposed improvements in Askeaton, to include costings and cost benefit analysis. It is a matter for the Council to progress these works. The Council has not drawn any of this funding allocation to date.

Askeaton was identified through the national Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment as a location where flood risk was potentially significant. It is therefore designated as one of 300 Areas for Further Assessment under the National Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme. A detailed flood risk assessment of Askeaton is being carried out by engineering consultants on behalf of the Office of Public Works, under the Shannon CFRAM Study, in partnership with Limerick City & County Council. Draft flood maps, which represent predicted flood extents for certain probabilities of flood events, have been produced and were the subject of a Public Consultation Day in Askeaton on 6 November 2014. The draft maps will be finalised following a national consultation due to commence shortly, details of which will be available on . As part of the flood risk mitigation options development process, a Public Consultation Day was held in Askeaton on 7 October 2015. Flood Risk Management Plans for each CFRAM Study area are scheduled to be prepared during 2016.

The OPW continues to maintain the Shannon Embankments in Co. Limerick in fulfilment of its statutory obligations under the Arterial Drainage Acts. The embankments have all been refurbished within the past ten years and are functioning at their design level. Work on the embankments consists primarily of vegetation maintenance and periodic inspections.