David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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74. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to outline the progress made to date with respect to flood relief schemes for Castlemartyr and Mogeely, County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15630/24]

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of the devastating impact flooding has had to home owners, businesses and the communities of Castlemartyr and Mogeely during Storm Babet, with both residential and commercial property flooding in Castlemartyr and the Gleann Fia housing estate flooding in Mogeely.

The Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management or CFRAM Programme, the largest study of flood risk in the state, was completed by the OPW in 2018. The output from this study was the Flood Risk Management Plans that are providing the evidence for a proactive approach for designing and constructing flood relief schemes for the most at-risk communities.

It is not possible to progress all 150 flood relief schemes identified by these Plans simultaneously, due to the limited availability of the professional and specialised engineering skills required to design and construct flood relief schemes. While the prioritised approach to delivering schemes means that work is complete or underway to protect some 80% of all at risk properties, nationally, the flood relief project for Castlemartyr, which is planned to include Mogeely, is not in the first tranche of projects being progressed. The Government is committed to funding this scheme as part of the €1.3bn for flood relief measures under the National Development Plan.

Pending the commencement of the design work for this scheme, Cork County Council can introduce localised flood mitigation measures with funding from the OPW Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme. The details of this scheme are available on the OPW website.

Cork County Council has recently submitted an updated application to the OPW for Castlemartyr. The application consists of proposed works, which includes increasing the height of the wall upstream of Castlemartyr Bridge and cleaning, widening and deepening the river to improve flood conveyance. The OPW have reviewed this application and have requested further information from Cork County Council, which will be reviewed when submitted.

I have been advised that Cork County Council is currently preparing an application to the scheme for interim flood risk mitigation works at Gleann Fia and at other locations in Mogeely. I understand that Cork County Council are considering all possible solutions to mitigate against flooding in that area.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Local flooding issues are matters for each Local Authority to investigate and address. Where necessary, Local Authorities may put forward proposals to relevant central Government Departments, including the Office of Public Works, under the Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme, for funding of appropriate measures depending on the infrastructure or assets under threat.

At present, there is no application with the OPW for this location. My office contacted Cork County Council who have advised that the area around Ardcahan Bridge has a history of flooding, whereby the R587 frequently becomes impassable to road traffic. This can happen several times a year and presents both a hazard and inconvenience requiring a temporary emergency road closure and diversions to be put in place.

The OPW understands that the eyes of Ardcahan Bridge have become silted, and that the hydraulic conveyance capacity of the bridge is compromised. This reduction in conveyance capacity has resulted in an increase in the frequency and severity of flooding upstream of the bridge. Cork County Council have completed an investigation on the structure of the bridge to determine corrosion effects, extensive hydrological modelling, environmental surveys and a detailed design on repair works to the bridge. As this is a Special Area of Conservation, finalising the design for removing silt is challenging. Cork County Council is currently advancing maintenance works for the bridge deck only. Given environmental constraints relating to the presence of Fresh Water Pearl Mussels at the location of the bridge, there are no plans at present to include the removal of silt from the eyes of the bridge as part of these maintenance works.

As this flooding issue is affecting roads and not properties, the funding and responsibility for this flooding issue is a matter for the Minister for Transport. I will bring this matter to the attention of the Minister for Transport.