Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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102. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department has now received an up-to-date environmental impact study in respect of the Blackpool flood relief scheme; the timeframe for when the public consultation will occur; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16046/25]

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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103. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the up-to-date position in respect of the Blackpool flood relief scheme in view of the fact that there was major flooding over 12 years ago, that it was agreed that a flood relief programme would be put in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16045/25]

Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 102 and 103 together.

The Bride River Flood Relief Scheme (Blackpool FRS) was initiated in 2013 following major flooding that occurred in 2012, and is expected to provide protection from the Bride River for some 290 residential and commercial properties. The Blackpool area has an extensive history of flooding with at least 15 flood events occurring since 1974, including recent flood events arising from storms such as Storm Babet. The proposed scheme design includes conveyance improvements, flood defence embankments, walls and pumping stations, and has an estimated budget of circa €20.5 million.

The scheme design, in 2018, was submitted to the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services Reform and Digitalisation for statutory confirmation under the Arterial Drainage Act, 1945 as amended; and Ministerial confirmation was granted in 2021. In June 2021, this decision was challenged by a community group and was granted leave to apply for a Judicial Review of the decision. The Minister agreed to consent to an order reverting the evaluation of the Blackpool Flood Relief Scheme back for further public consultation, and this resulted in further information being requested from the OPW in support of the request for consent under the Arterial Drainage Acts 1945.

The OPW provided a response to this request in October 2022. In November 2023, a further request was made to the OPW to provide supplementary environmental information that required some additional environmental surveys. In line with seasonal restrictions, these surveys were conducted throughout 2024. Additionally, the OPW has recently received and is reviewing a draft update to the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) that was prepared by the OPW’s consultant. The EIAR was updated to take account of relevant surveys including field surveys, invasive species surveys, mammal surveys, bat surveys, fisheries surveys, otter surveys and ecological surveys. It is currently envisaged that the supplementary information and an updated EIAR will be submitted to the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services Reform and Digitalisation in April 2025.

Any subsequent public consultation on the supplementary information to be provided by the Office of Public Works will be a matter for the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services Reform and Digitalisation. The Office of Public Works will continue to engage with Department for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services Reform and Digitalisation as appropriate to further progress the scheme.