Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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301. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the current status of the project prepared by the OPW re the Blackpool flood relief scheme, in view of the fact that this project was delayed due to his Department failing to act back in 2022; the timeline for when approval for the project to proceed will be given; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36070/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to reassure the Deputy that my Department did act in 2022 with the specific purpose of ensuring compliance with regulations and mitigating the risk of legal challenges and the delays associated with such challenges. The details behind these actions and the current status of the project are set out below.

The Deputy will be aware that the timeline for the examination of this scheme has been severely impacted by challenges brought under Judicial Review. The scheme was originally granted consent in March 2021 but this decision was ultimately overturned in early 2022 following a legal challenge brought by a community group. During the course of these proceedings, my Department sought and received extensive legal advice on not only the specific matters raised during the course of these proceedings, but also on the wider Ministerial consent function and how to ensure compliance in this space moving forward. This advice informed a request for supplementary information from the OPW in February of 2022. This request was made in accordance with section 7B(4) of the Arterial Drainage Act 1945, as amended.

The OPW supplied the information requested to my Department in October 2022. Following receipt of this information, my Department re-engaged it's environmental consultants and issued instructions for the examination of all the environmental reports supplied by the OPW. These instructions were informed by the legal advice supplied in the aftermath of the Judicial Review proceedings earlier that year.

Following a thorough examination of the scheme, in October 2023 the Department's consultants recommended that supplementary information again be requested from the OPW under section 7B(4) of the Act. This request was communicated to the OPW in November 2023.

One of the issues at play with the most recent request for supplementary information concerns the requirement to update baseline information which was gathered in the preparation of environmental reports supplied prior to the Judicial Review proceedings challenging the March 2021 decision. The Deputy should be advised that this is not a matter which is exclusive to the examination of the Blackpool scheme. For example, a similar determination was reached in the examination of the River Deel (Crossmolina) flood relief scheme. The provision of up to date baseline data in this case enabled the examination of this scheme to be completed and an order consenting to the scheme was issued in September of last year, with construction now underway.

In respect of the current status of the Blackpool scheme, I can report that the OPW submitted supplementary information to the Department on the 17th of April 2025. This information has been referred to the Department's consultants for examination. In parallel, my Department is also making arrangements for a period of public consultation to be held in regards to the environmental impacts of this scheme, as prescribed by the amended 1945 Act. Details of this consultation will be made available on my Departments website and local media.

I can assure the Deputy that my Department will continue to progress any actions required of it in a timely manner and in line with expert advice in order to ensure a robust process and a project that will be less vulnerable to legal challenges and the delays associated with these.