333. Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he can arrange for the OPW to carry out a detailed assessment of the River Catheen, Derrybeg, County Donegal to identify the necessary measures to address the problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [69494/25]

The National Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (PFRA), a requirement of the EU ‘Floods’ Directive (2007/60/EC), sets out to identify areas where the risk associated with flooding might be significant. These areas, referred to as Areas of Potentially Significant Flood Risk (APSFRs), are where detailed flood maps must then be prepared and measures developed to manage and reduce this risk where possible. Under the first cycle of implementation of the EU ‘Floods’ Directive, the PFRA was completed in 2012 following public consultation.

In 2018, to establish those communities that are at risk from significant flood events, the Office of Public Works (OPW) completed the largest study of flood risk ever undertaken by the State: the Catchment-based Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme. The CFRAM Programme studied 80% of Ireland’s primary flood risk and identified solutions that can protect over 95% of that risk. Some 150 new and additional flood relief schemes were identified through this Programme.

The 29 Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMPs) were a key output of CFRAM, identifying proposed flood relief measures nationwide. The Government has committed funding to support the delivery of flood relief schemes under the National Development Plan to 2030 to protect approximately 23,000 properties in communities that are under threat from river and coastal flood risk.

Options to manage the flood risk in the communities designated as APSFRs, and for which the risk was confirmed as being significant through more detailed analysis, were examined under the CFRAM Programme. For some communities, a technically viable flood relief scheme would have been identified, but the economic appraisal of that scheme indicated that the potential scheme was not economically viable (i.e., it had a benefit to cost ratio below one). As the CFRAM Programme was a strategic programme, it was recognised that the estimates of costs and benefits of a scheme were only indicative, and it was considered appropriate to examine such schemes in further detail to review whether a viable scheme could be identified. Derrybeg was one such community for which a Scheme Viability Review was undertaken but that review has not identified a viable flood relief scheme.

The Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme (Minor Works Scheme) was introduced by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in 2009. The purpose of the scheme is to provide funding to local authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised flooding or coastal erosion problems within their administrative areas. The scheme generally applies where a solution can be readily identified and achieved in a short time frame. Applications for funding from local authorities are assessed by the OPW having regard to the specific economic, technical, social and environmental criteria of the scheme, including a cost-benefit ratio. I recently announced that an increase in funding supports are to be made available to local authorities under the Minor Works Scheme, including an increase in the upper Minor Works threshold from €750,000 to €2,000,000, subject to qualifying criteria.