Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 December 2025
19. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if any action has been, or will be, taken to address the cross-Border flooding issue along the river Termon, which affects the town of Pettigo in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70828/25]
View answerThe level of flood risk in the community of Pettigo was considered during the recent review of the national Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment, which is a requirement under the EU ‘Floods’ Directive. An assessment of historical flood events noted that floods had occurred in the community in the past, with some properties affected. A predictive assessment of flood risk, based on the national indicative flood mapping, also identified that some flood risk may exist in the town.
Following public consultation, it was determined that the level of risk in Pettigo was not sufficient for the community to bae designated as an Area of Potentially Significant Flood Risk, which are the areas of flood risk that are nationally significant that may require intervention and assessment at a national-level.
Notwithstanding this, it was identified that a review of the national indicative flood maps for Pettigo should be undertaken to assess in more detail the level of risk in the town. As the River Termon forms the border, the OPW has engaged with colleagues in the Department for Infrastructure, Rivers (DfI Rivers), in Northern Ireland on this matter. DfI Rivers had previously scoped and proposed a project to assess the flood risk along the River Termon, including a pre-feasibility assessment of possible options for addressing the flood risk.
At the most recent meeting of the Cross-Border Flood Risk Management Technical Coordination Group in September this year, it was agreed that the OPW would collaborate with DfI Rivers on this assessment project. It is expected that the results of the project will be available in mid-2026.
The Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme was introduced by the OPW in 2009. The purpose of the scheme is to provide funding to local authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised flooding or coastal erosion problems within their administrative areas. It would be open to Donegal County Council to consider making an application for funding under the Scheme to address the flood risk at this location.
