Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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448. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if consideration will be given to initiating tranche two of the OPW flood protection scheme for Mogeely, Castlemartyr, Killeagh and Rathcormac in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10609/25]

Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)
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To date, six communities across Cork County are protected from significant flood risk by completed flood relief schemes in Bandon, Clonakilty, Douglas, Dunmanway, Fermoy and Mallow.

Through the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management Programme, (CFRAM), the largest study of flood risk was completed by the Office of Public Works (OPW), in 2018. Since 2018, and working with local authorities, the OPW has trebled, to some 100, the number of flood relief schemes at design and construction. It is not possible to progress all 150 flood relief schemes identified by CFRAM simultaneously, due to the limited availability of the professional and specialised engineering skills required to design and construct flood relief schemes. Under the national programme, work has yet to commence on the design of some 50 Tranche 2 flood relief schemes. Planning for the delivery of these schemes has commenced through the Tranche 2 Pilot.

CFRAM identified fifteen additional flood relief schemes for Cork County. Under the national delivery model, Cork County Council is leading the delivery of six flood relief schemes with nine planned in the next phase; Tranche 2, including Castlemartyr and Rathcormac. The OPW is funding nine staff in Cork County Council to support its delivery of this programme of schemes.

The OPW is piloting a new delivery model for flood relief schemes through four Tranche II schemes in counties Kilkenny and Donegal. The Tranche II Pilot will transfer the management of data gathering, as a first step in designing a scheme, from consultant engineers for a single scheme to the local authorities for all schemes in the Pilot and, where feasible, within their administrative areas. The Pilot means that data gathering may be scaled up from individual communities to all schemes in a county. As well as bringing economies of scale, the gathered data can then better inform the prioritisation of schemes and the scope of services required from consultants to design and construct flood relief schemes.

Ultimately, the Pilot will inform the delivery model to be applied for the future tranche of schemes nationally and, in doing so, will be relevant to all schemes. Significant preparatory work is underway, with the Pilot schemes’ range of information and data-gathering requirements currently being considered and outlined.

The OPW understands that Cork County Council has progressed interim flood mitigation measures, for Rathcormac which were funded under Climate Adaptation and Resilience local grants. These works included the installation of a flood embankment, upgrade of storm infrastructure, drainage channel clearing and works to roads to improve drainage. It remains open to Cork County Council to introduce further localised flood mitigation measures in Rathcormac with 90% funding from the OPW's Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme ahead of a flood relief scheme commencing. Under the minor works scheme, applications are considered for projects that are estimated to cost not more than €750,000.

The OPW approved funding under the aforementioned scheme for flood mitigation works in Castlemartyr and Killeagh in September 2024. Works included gravel removal, river cleaning and minor drainage upgrades to the rivers Kiltha and Dissour. Cork County Council have advised that they are currently investigating additional interim works for 2025.

Cork County Council submitted a minor works funding proposal in January 2025 to OPW for a study into the potential for Natural Water Retention Measures as an interim mitigation measure in Mogeely. This application is currently under review by the OPW. The OPW understands that Cork County Council is currently exploring a further minor works funding proposal for flood mitigation works at Mogeely.

The villages of Castlemartyr, Mogeely and Killeagh are included in the Midleton and East Cork Individual Property Protection (IPP) Scheme, which is a Cork County Council scheme with €5.8m of funding by the OPW. Under this IPP Scheme, property owners who experienced flooding during Storm Babet (October 2023) are eligible to apply for receipt of IPP measures. Property surveys are ongoing with floodgate delivery to suitable properties commencing in the coming weeks.