Office of Public Works Priorities and Progress: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-19
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Cathal Byrne (FG), Cultural and Educational Panel

I thank the Minister of State for coming before us today. I am very familiar with his work in Wexford. I thank him for the work he did with the team in the OPW during the latest floods in Enniscorthy, Bunclody and Bridgetown. I very much welcome the €2.6 million, the interim measures that are coming and the fact that officials from the Department and Wexford County Council will be available in Enniscorthy tomorrow afternoon to meet with local residents and businesses about the interim measures. I am aware of the work the Minister of State is doing in proposing new legislation, through amendments to the Arterial Drainage Act, for how flood schemes can get planning permission. As somebody who knows the people whose houses were flooded and the business owners whose businesses were flooded and who were directly affected, I very much welcome that. The Minister of State has my full support for the work he is doing there.
The OPW does fantastic work in Wexford at some of the public sites. I encourage people to come and see sites such as Ferns Castle and the work that has been done at the JFK Arboretum and Tintern Abbey near New Ross. These are fantastic resources that are kept for the public good through the work the Minister of State and his officials do.
I want to raise one specific point, which is an application for coastal erosion flood relief measures that will be made shortly by Wexford County Council for a site at Ballyhealy in south Wexford. It is bearing the brunt of coastal erosion, with up to 3 m a year disappearing into the sea. It will shortly be too late for the families, businesses and houses there. The Department has significantly funded an area slightly upstream from where I am talking about, at Seaview. I am working closely with Councillor Frank Staples to access funding for works that could be done at the Ballyhealy site. I encourage the Minister of State to visit the site. An application will be made shortly by Wexford County Council. It is to be hoped that can be supported and the businesses and the residents who live on that piece of ground will have their property and land protected.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:57+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-19