Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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289. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the OPW has conducted an assessment of the impact of elevated Shannon water levels on silage production, grazing capacity and farm incomes in the Shannon Callows region; and if he will provide details of such assessments. [40955/26]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The OPW completed a National Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (PFRA) in 2012, after public consultation. This assessment of flood risk is a requirement of the EU 'Floods' Directive. The PFRA is reviewed and, if necessary, updated on a cyclical basis. The first review was completed in 2019 and the second was completed in 2025.

The objective of the PFRA is to identify areas where the risks associated with flooding might be significant. These areas are referred to as Areas of Potentially Significant Flood Risk (APSFRs). Detailed flood maps must be prepared for APSFRs and measures developed to manage and reduce this risk where possible. The APSFRs identified through the PFRA were the focus of the National Catchment-based Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme

The CFRAM Programme, the largest study of flood risk was completed by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in 2018. The CFRAM Programme studied the flood risk for two thirds of the population for the risk of flooding from rivers and the sea. The Government’s Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMPs), an output of CFRAM, provide the evidence for a proactive approach to designing and constructing flood relief schemes for the most at-risk communities. Investment of €1.3 billion through the National Development Plan has allowed the OPW, since 2018, to treble the number of flood relief schemes at design, planning, or construction to some 100 schemes.

Flood risk can arise within all floodplains throughout the country. It can affect agricultural land, rural roads and one-off housing as well as communities in cities and towns. However, large areas of dispersed, low-density risk, such as the Shannon Callows, whole catchments or long reaches of floodplain, are not designated as APSFRs at a national-level. The APSFRs are rather being defined as areas of concentrated flood risk where specifically focussed interventions may be required and are feasible. Specifically focussed interventions, such as flood relief schemes, would not be appropriate for areas of dispersed, low-density risk. The ‘Measures Applicable for all Areas’, as set out in the FRMPs, can be applied in these areas to manage the flood risk that may exist.

Following exceptional flooding in the Shannon Callows during summer 2023, on 7 November 2023, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine announced the launch of a once off Shannon Callows Flood Scheme. The aim of the scheme was to support farmers who lost fodder due to flooding in the region during summer 2023.