Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 April 2026
68. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide an update on an ongoing permanent solution to flooding at a location (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26357/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraLough 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 the Lough.
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 options that are now being consulted on. I met with the Council, elected members and the local community at Roscommon County Council on Monday of this week, where I facilitated a briefing on the nine potential options.
The nine options now being consulted on will be evaluated against the project’s dual objectives of managing the flood risk and minimising the impact on the environment in this area. The outcome of this public consultation event, that was held, in person, on 14 April at the Hodson Bay Hotel and remains open via Roscommon County Council's website, until 22 May, is to inform a preferred option for Roscommon County Council to submit a planning consent application An Coimisiún Pleanála later this year.
