Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 May 2026
64. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide an update on plans for a permanent solution to flooding at Lough Funshinagh; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39684/26]
View answerLough Funshinagh is a designated Special Area of Conservation Turlough, and has experienced increasingly severe flooding in recent years. These events, driven by extreme weather, have resulted in unprecedented water levels, flooding and flood risk to communities surrounding Lough Funshinagh.
In response to the increasing frequency and severity of flooding, Roscommon County Council working in conjunction with the Office of Public Works (OPW), has progressed a three-pronged approach to manage both the immediate and long-term flood risk, while ensuring compliance with environmental and planning legislation. This includes the provision of Individual Property Protection for those properties at flood risk, and Trap-bags which are ready to be deployed at locations surrounding the Lough.
Due to the significant flooding that occurred in the spring of 2024, the development of an Interim Flood Relief Scheme became the primary focus in advance of the permanent scheme. Planning permission for this interim scheme was received from An Coimisiún Pleanála, in January 2025, with the scheme activated in April of last year. The interim scheme is regulating flows from the Lough through the Cross River, through overground pumping. Over the Winter 2025/2026 the pumping of some 2.3 billion litres of water, at a rate of up to 300 litres per second, has ensured the water levels at Lough Funshinagh have been effectively managed.
Roscommon County Council, with funding from the OPW, is currently progressing the permanent solution, the Lough Funshinagh Climate Adaptation Project. The work, over recent months, by the scheme’s consultants on environmental surveys and assessments to manage constraints on all potential options, in this special area of conservation, has further developed the options. I met with the Council, elected members and the local community at Roscommon County Council last month, on the 13th April, where I facilitated a briefing on the nine potential options.
In April 2026, a third Public Participation Day (PPD), organised by Roscommon County Council, took place at The Hodson Bay Hotel. Members of the local community, alongside other interested stakeholders, were presented with nine potential scheme options currently under assessment by the Council. The Council and their Consultants are currently undertaking a technical evaluation and comparison of all nine options, taking into account the feedback that was received at the PPD event, and the project’s dual objectives of managing the flood risk and minimising the impact on the environment.
A further PPD event to present the emerging preferred option is planned for Q3 of this year, followed by the completion of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) and Natura Impact Statement (NIS). A planning application for the scheme is scheduled to be submitted to An Coimisiún Pleanála later this year in-line with the revised project programme.
