Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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304. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to confirm that Mogeely, County Cork, will be included under tranche two of the OPW flood protection scheme. [14187/25]

Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)
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The delivery of the Flood Risk Management Plans that are a key output of the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management programme (published in 2018) is supported by €1.3bn through the National Development Plan. It is not possible to progress all 150 flood relief schemes identified by the Flood Risk Management Plans simultaneously, due to the limited availability of the professional and specialised engineering and other skills and services that are required to design and construct flood relief schemes.

Since 2018, the Office of Public Works (OPW) has trebled the number of flood relief schemes at design, planning, and construction to some 100 schemes. Cork County Council can introduce localised flood mitigation measures with up to 90% funding from the OPW's Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme. Under the Minor Works scheme, applications are considered for projects that are estimated to cost not more than €750,000 to address localised fluvial flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative area. The scheme applies where a flood defence solution can be readily identified and achieved within a short timeframe.

Cork County Council submitted a Minor Works funding proposal in January 2025 to the OPW for funding 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 OPW has ongoing engagement with Cork County Council in relation to flood risk at Mogeely, Castlemartyr, and other communities and the optimal means of implementing flood relief measures for these areas. In the interim, the village of Mogeely is 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.