I again thank the House for the opportunity to engage with Members directly on flooding matters. I am aware of the significant impact on communities and of the distress caused by and the continued risk of flooding. I have seen impact of flooding on people and on their homes, businesses and farms at first hand. I fully recognise the hardship experienced by all those who have been affected by flooding. The OPW is the lead agency for flood management and has a vital role in co-ordinating the delivery of the national f…

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. The voluntary homeowners relocation scheme was introduced by the Government in 2017 to address the very serious flooding of those homes that flooded in the winter of 2015-16, including those homes flooded by turloughs. This is a national scheme of humanitarian assistance, targeting aid at the worst-affected properties, for which there are no alternative feasible measures. To be eligible for assistance under this once-off scheme, a homeowner must meet a number o…

It is very difficult to speak about individual cases but I can speak about them one to one. There is a scheme in place, as I have laid out. To date, 31 homes have received a formal offer of financial assistance for relocation. Of these, 24 homeowners have now completed the process, which has enabled them to relocate and purchase or build a replacement home under the scheme. Three of the homeowners who received offers are not proceeding under the scheme and the remaining homeowners are in varying stages of progressi…

I am grateful for the opportunity to attend the House. I appreciate the opportunity to address this important issue. I am joined by members of the flood risk management division of the Office of Public Works, OPW. I will focus on the specific area of flooding that Senators have raised. I will briefly outline some of the relevant context, achievements and challenges. The OPW co-ordinates the whole-of-government approach to managing coastal and river flooding and its social, economic and environmental impacts through…

I am getting old and grey.

I thank Senators again for the opportunity to come before the House today to engage with them directly on flooding matters. I am aware of the significant impact on communities, the distress caused by flooding and the continued flood risk. I have seen first-hand the impact of flooding on people in their homes, their businesses and their farms. I convey my deepest sympathy to all those who are affected by flooding. The OPW is the lead agency for flood risk management. It has a vital role in co-ordinating the delivery…

Have you a cake for me?

Do not forget the candles.

One is enough.

The River Bride flood relief scheme in Blackpool was initiated in 2013 following a major flood that occurred in 2012 and is expected to provide protection from the River Bride for some 290 residential and commercial properties. The Blackpool area has an extensive history of flooding, with at least 15 flood events occurring since 1974, including recent flood events arising from storms such as Storm Babet. The proposed scheme design includes conveyance improvements, flood defence embankments, walls and pumping statio…

I understand the Deputy's frustration and that of the people he represents in his constituency. However, once the judicial review came in, that also delayed the process. We have to carry out the environmental assessment. It is very important we do so. If we do not and it is challenged again, the Deputy will be the very one standing up to challenge me on why the proper procedures were not carried out. I am doing everything in my power to bring this to a conclusion. It is with the Department at present. As soon as we…

Any public consultation on the supplementary information to be provided by the Office of Public Works will be a matter for the Minister for public expenditure, infrastructure, public service reform and digitalisation. The Office of Public Works will continue to engage with that Department, as appropriate, to further progress the scheme. It is with the Department and as soon as it comes out - I do not want to be long-winded but I have to wait for that process to take place - I will revert to the Deputy. I will do my…

The OPW, like other State bodies, is obliged to follow Government policies on the disposal of surplus properties and the arrangements involved are set out in Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform circulars, Circular 11/2015 on protocols for the transfer and sharing of State property assets, and Circular 17/2016 on the policy for property acquisition and disposal of surplus property. The OPW’s policy in managing surplus properties is to establish if the property is required for alternative State …

-----13 properties disposed of in 2021 for €1,508,803; 24 properties disposed of in 2022 for €8.6 million;-----

-----22 properties disposed of in 2023 for €3.7 million; and 18 properties disposed of in 2024 for €4.3 million. This amounts to a total of 171 properties for €35,509,162.

There is a clear process we have to follow and the Deputy is well aware that, if I did not follow it, he would be standing opposite telling me I had done this and that and had not followed the proper procedure. Fourteen properties went to Tipperary County Council for social housing. Eight residential units in Dublin city centre were leased to housing agencies. A building in Crumlin was leased to Dublin City Council for use as a family hub. Two former Garda stations in Cork were transferred to social housing. Three …

The Government is doing everything possible to help those people in hotels. On the question the Deputy asked, we have offered a great number of properties to different organisations, such as local authorities and local groups. If the Deputy knows where there are properties, he should make that information available to me and I will look into them. It is easy to stand up - I am not being critical here - and talk about properties in different parts of the country, but it is not always easy to find an end use for them…

The catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, programme was the largest study of flood risk in the country, studying the flood risk for some two thirds of the population. Following and based on the CFRAM study outputs, Galway City Council appointed consultant engineers in November 2020 to design an option to protect the city from a significant flood event in the future. The work completed by the consultants has identified that the scale of flood risk in Galway city is much greater than that identified …

I really understand. I spoke to a great number of people in Galway. I was there when it flooded in the days when I was Minister of State previously. I understand the Deputy's frustration, but compared to the initial CFRAM study, we have gone from 312 to 940 properties. That takes in a huge area of Galway and many stakeholders. A lot of consultation has taken place. We have one chance to get it right. We cannot afford to get it wrong. There is a lot of work going on. From the day a scheme is announced to the day we …

I am nearly afraid to say "a hands-on approach" because, as the Deputy said, four Ministers told her they were taking a hands-on approach. My-----