Update: 50 new flood relief schemes announced under €1bn plan
It was announced today that the first tranche of funding as part of the €1bn flood risk management plan has been given the green light.
The Minister of State for the Office of Public Works and Flood Relief, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran launched the €257m in funding for 50 new flood relief schemes in Athlone this morning.
The minister said that the new schemes, in addition to the 75 projects already underway, would protect most of the 34,500 properties at risk of flooding across the country.
As part of today’s announcement, there will also be €14m made available to 19 local authorities to lead on delivery of 31 of these schemes.
Also attending at the launch was the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
“Flooding can have a devastating impact on families, communities and businesses," he said.
"If your home or business is badly damaged or destroyed by flooding, the emotional and financial impact is immense. It also has a huge cost to the economy. For all of these reasons, the Government will spend €1 billion on flood relief and prevention over the next decade under Project Ireland 2040, our national development plan."
€1bn flood risk management plan to be unveiled today
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will announce a new billion euro flood risk management plan in Athlone today.
Researchers looked at 300 areas in a six-year study which focused on communities across the country that are potentially in danger of flooding.
Over the next 10 years, €1bn will be spent on the initial 29 flood managament schemes nationwide.
118 schemes are to be completed in total, with 50 of them to be brought forward in the short term.
The study was carried out by the Office of Public Works' Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management programme.
Many of the schemes will focus on vulnerable areas such as Tralee, Limerick and Dundalk which are often the worst affected areas for flooding.
