Office of Public Works Priorities and Progress: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-19
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Mike Kennelly (FG), Labour Panel

I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad. I acknowledge the incredible amount of work he and his office have done. When there were flooding issues across the whole country recently, including in the east but also in the west, he came down to my area and really looked after the people in Listowel and Killocrim, which were totally devastated. Their lives were turned upside down by the recent flooding. To the Minister of State, his Department, Martina, his secretary, and all involved, thanks a million from the people of Listowel.
There has been a lot of poor publicity from Deputies in the Dáil recently suggesting that Listowel's full flood relief scheme is in jeopardy. I want the Minister of State to clarify whether it is ploughing ahead, along with the schemes for Kenmare and Tralee. One thing I have told the people in the Listowel area is that the early flood alert system has to be installed before any flood relief scheme is delivered. That will allay any fears people have downstream. I sought this the last time in the context of the Minister of State's emergency works. I did not get it then, so I urge the Minister of State to ensure it is put in place before the full flood relief scheme is completed. There is an area at the "Big Bridge" entering Listowel that is overgrown completely. This is going to cause flooding come the early autumn or at another time with high water, so I ask the OPW to take measures to address this as quickly as it can.
My final point, which I am raising for a family, concerns the relocation programme the Minister of State and his Department put in place. The last four families have been settled. The final family, from Listowel, received three procurement offers from the OPW and secured the last one because they were being outpriced. They are now in financial difficulty because the procurement moneys from the OPW were below the cost of buying. They are now in a lot of financial debt. Is there anything the OPW can do in that case, given that the money was secured on the buying of the property?
I thank the Minister of State for his wonderful work.

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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