The Office of Public Works (OPW) has announced an increase in funding for local authorities to carry out flood relief and coastal protection works.

The upper financial limit for each project under the Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme will increase from €750,000 to €2 million. This will allow for a greater scale of works, including nature-based solutions.

Minister of State Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran said: "Everyone will, no doubt, recall the serious flooding and coastal erosion experienced following the many storms in recent times. I have seen the effects of this on communities first hand and I am aware of the range of issues facing local authorities to reduce local flood risk and coastal erosion risk both before and after such events. The improvements to this Scheme that I am announcing today will provide greater flexibility to local authorities to address local flood and coastal erosion risks."

-- Advertisement --

An additional envelope of €3m will be made available for projects to remove river blockages at crossings, bridges, or culverts that are causing increased flood risks.

Since the scheme was introduced, over €69 million has been approved for more than 900 projects, which have protected an estimated 7,900 homes from flooding and coastal erosion.

Minister Moran concluded: "The success of this Scheme reflects the very valuable work being carried out by the local authorities in helping to address localised flooding and coastal erosion problems throughout the country. I am pleased to approve these additional supports to local authorities for this important work. The OPW will be sending out further details of the revisions to the Scheme to Local Authorities over the coming weeks and will work closely with Local Authorities on implementation of the revisions."