Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 February 2026
313. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation for an update on flood relief schemes in Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15933/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra314. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation for an update on flood relief schemes in Kilkenny; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15934/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra315. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number of flood relief scheme commencements in Carlow and Kilkenny since 2020; the total cost of each to date per scheme; the average length of time spent in pre-planning consultation prior to each of these works commencing, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15935/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 313, 314 and 315 together.
Kilkenny County Council is leading the delivery of four flood relief schemes for Graiguenamanagh-Tinnahinch, Ballyhale, Piltown, and Freshford in the first tranche of schemes; and piloting a new national delivery model. The OPW is funding two staff in Kilkenny County Council to project manage the delivery of these schemes.
The OPW and Carlow County Council are currently in discussion to progress the development of a further flood relief scheme for Carlow Town to augment the existing scheme to protect a further 35 properties. The current scheme protects 185 properties from the risk of flooding. In addition to this, the OPW has engaged consultants to produce a Scheme Climate Change Adaptation Plan (SCCAP) for the existing Carlow Flood Relief Scheme. This work is expected to be completed before the end of 2027. The SCCAP will be developed pursuant to National Climate Policy and the OPW’s commitments under the Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan for Flood Risk Management (2019) to ensure that the scheme is readily adaptable to future requirements.
Under the national programme for flood relief schemes, due to constraints on available professional engineering skills, work has yet to commence on the design of some 50 Tranche 2 flood relief schemes. These include the schemes for Leiglinbridge in county Carlow and Inistioge and Thomastown in county Kilkenny.
County Kilkenny
Graiguenamanagh-Tinnahinch FRS
The Graiguenamanagh-Tinnahinch Flood Relief Scheme commenced in March 2020. The Graiguenamanagh-Tinnahinch flood relief scheme was submitted to An Coimisiún Pleanála on the 12th December, 2025 for planning consent. Expenditure to date on this scheme is some €3.17m
The flood relief scheme will include raised defences on the River Barrow along with raised defences and an upstream storage area on the River Duiske to prevent flooding. Where possible, new flood defence walls will replace existing walls throughout the scheme. These defences will protect properties from the 1% AEP (100 year) fluvial flood event. A total of 84 properties will be protected, 31 Residential and 53 Commercial properties.
It is currently programmed to commence construction at the end of 2027 and it is expected to take two years to complete.
Ballyhale FRS
The Ballyhale FRS commenced in April 2020. The Ballyhale Flood Relief Scheme was submitted for Planning in May, 2023. Planning permission was granted with conditions on the 22nd August, 2024. Expenditure to date on this scheme is some €1.18m
This scheme will include embankments, new channel, flood defences, removal of existing weir and some minor works on the existing Main Street Bridge. These flood relief measures will protect 28 properties, (20 residential and 8 commercial) from the 1% AEP (100 year) fluvial flood event.
This scheme has progressed to Stage 3 Detailed Design and Tender for Construction. It is programmed that construction will commence in 2026 with substantial completion of the scheme in early 2028.
Piltown and Freshford
The OPW is piloting a new delivery model for flood relief schemes through four Tranche 2 schemes in counties Kilkenny and Donegal, which is referred to as the Tranche 2 Pilot. There are two Tranche 2 Pilot schemes in County Kilkenny (Freshford and Piltown) and two schemes in County Donegal (Donegal Town and Letterkenny). The Tranche 2 Pilot is transferring the management of data gathering, as a first step in designing a scheme, from consultant engineers for a single scheme to the local authorities for all schemes in the Pilot. The Pilot means that data gathering, where feasible, may be scaled up from individual communities to all schemes in a county. The Pilot will better inform the prioritisation of future schemes nationally and the scope of services required from consultants to design and facilitate construction of flood relief schemes. The design of these schemes, being delivered through this pilot, is at an early stage of data collection to inform the appointment of engineering and environmental consultants.
The OPW’s Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme, since 2009, has approved over €70m for some 900 projects that are mitigating flood risk to over 8,000 properties. This scheme that provides 90% funding, remains available and I will shortly be announcing the details on increasing the scope of this scheme, including increasing the funding available from €750,000 to €2m for each project.
This scheme is available to fund localised measures to all communities to manage flood risk from rivers and the sea. It is also available to introduce those interim measures that can mitigate the flood risk to those communities pending completion of a major flood relief scheme.
