Flood Relief Schemes
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-12
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Kevin Boxer Moran (IND), Longford-Westmeath

I will bring the Deputy back to 2018, when I took up this role in the OPW. The first task I had was to travel the country. Many local authorities would not sign up to catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM. It was a master plan for delivering flood defence for the whole country. Having achieved that in the first couple of months in my role, I then had to go and get investment. With the Minister at the time, Paschal Donohoe, I fought tooth and nail to get €1 billion. That was the start of delivering schemes, in my eyes, for the people of the country.
The master plan set out the areas that are hugely affected by flooding in the Deputy's area, my area and every other area in the country. The Government then backed that with money. We now have ten schemes at various different stages. Some are very close to completion. More schemes are being developed every day.
Since I returned to this position, I have changed the criteria for the minor works scheme. The budget has increased from €750,000 to €2 million. I brought about changes to give the local authorities staff to try to drive on these schemes. I have changed how we deliver these schemes through the minor works system. The schemes are an important part of delivering.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-12/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-12