2026-07-07

17. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide an update on the South Galway Flood Relief Project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50877/26]

I ask the Minister to provide an update on the south Galway flood relief project and a timeline for delivery of this scheme, which is critical to protect homes in the area.

The Office of Public Works, OPW, and Galway County Council are working together on the development of the south Galway, Gort lowlands, flood relief scheme with Galway County Council acting as the lead authority. Gort lowlands catchment is a karst landscape with a combination of underground water, river water, groundwater, swallow holes and turloughs. It is unique at an international level from an ecological perspective. Due to the complex nature of the area, Trinity College Dublin and Geological Survey Ireland have been contributing to the development of the scheme's design. They are working alongside the engineering and environmental consultants who were procured to develop a viable scheme design. There has been a significant amount of public and stakeholder consultation for the scheme and Galway County Council and the OPW are presenting the emerging preferred option. The scheme, when completed, is expected to provide protection to 115 properties: 50 residential and 65 commercial. Environmental assessments are currently being undertaken for the preferred option, which involves an integrated mechanism to effectively move water through overflow channels across the turloughs in this area. The specific nature of these assessments are being informed by discussions with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS. The timeframe for the consent submission depends on the ongoing environmental survey results and the outcome of the NPWS engagement. Should planning for the scheme be granted, Galway County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, will re-engage on the matter of culvert capacity, which came to light while the M18 motorway was under construction.

As the Minister of State will be aware, flooding in south Galway caused devastation in previous years. This scheme has been on the cards for a long time. There is frustration locally at the slow pace of delivery and that communities in the area continue to be left exposed as a result. The weather has become more changeable and extreme. We have seen the impact that flooding has had in the south-east in recent times as well. There is a real fear in south Galway that the longer this drags on, the more it increases the likelihood of a severe event impacting the area again. The last timeframe I was given for submission of the scheme for planning was quarter 4 2026. That had been pushed back a number of times but now in my most recent questions to the Minister of State's office, that timeline has disappeared completely. Now, there seems to be no timeline for the project and that is concerning. I appreciate that this is complex environmentally but it is extremely urgent. People's homes and livelihoods are at stake. Will the Minister of State give a renewed timeline today and an assurance to the community?

I understand the Deputy's frustration and that of the people in the Gort lowlands. This is a very complex scheme. It is one of the most complex we have in the country. When we talk about swallow holes, turloughs and underground water, it is very complex. That is why we have the experts in the field working on this. Like the Deputy and everyone else, I get frustrated but I understand when I meet the consultants and officials in my Department that the delays are necessary. We get one chance to get a scheme right and this is one of them. While there is frustration about delays in the scheme, I assure the Deputy that I have put my full resources into trying to deliver this scheme. I have also given the local authorities funding for an executive engineer to drive these schemes on. It is not always the case that the OPW is delaying it; we are not. We are working collectively with Galway County Council in this case and with the people. We have had a number of consultations and I will continue to engage with the Deputy and others. I have been invited down to a meeting there shortly. Like the Deputy, I want to be able to deliver good, positive messages to the people.

We are over time but I will allow the Deputy back in briefly.

I acknowledge that Galway County Council's engineers are doing great work on this. The south Galway flood relief committee has documented the issues and delays the scheme has faced. The Minister of State mentioned the NPWS engagement. That was originally scoped just around one technical question on the flow controls but that has since seemed to have blown up into a full environmental review of the scheme. It has dragged on for 18 months. A timeline needs to be put on this to bring it to a conclusion. As has been mentioned, the committee there is keen to meet the Minister of State, go through these issues and discuss them with him. I hope that can be facilitated. I hope we can progress this as quickly as possible and get a renewed timeline in place because it is so important to protect the homes and businesses in the area.

This is a complex scheme but as the Deputy is aware, I made changes to the minor works scheme to allow local authorities to look at measures to facilitate them and the funding is there in that regard. That could be looked at. I make the point to the Deputy that we are so advanced on the scheme and it is so complex - I agree with the Deputy on that - that we have to allow the experts on the ground to deliver on these schemes. I would love to rush it through. I would love to say that to the Deputy but I cannot. I have been down there and have witnessed first-hand what has happened in that part of the country but it is no different to what is happening all over the country. People say we are taking too long but we have one chance to get it right. It is frustrating given the length of time it is taking but I assure the Deputy that my Department and I are working with the experts to deliver on this scheme. It is something we want to see ourselves.