Ireland: Flood risk management plans

In 2018 the Minister of State for the Office of Public Works and Flood Relief, Mr. Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran TD launched the Flood Risk Management Plans. This was the largest study of flood risk ever undertaken by the State and assessed the risk in 300 communities around the country that are home to approximately 3 million citizens.

Through the Office of Public Works’ (OPW) Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme, detailed engineering analysis, assessment and extensive public consultation has been undertaken for those 300 identified communities, including 90 coastal areas, that in 2012 were, at that time, considered most likely to be impacted by future flooding. The CFRAM Programme studied 80% of properties at risk from our primary cause of flooding in communities that house almost two thirds of our population. While the Programme assessed flood risk in all our large urban areas, approximately one quarter of communities assessed had populations of less than 500 people and half had less than 2,000 people.

The details of the flood risk and proposed feasible measures for each of the 300 studied communities is set out in 29 Flood Risk Management Plans, one for each river basin, that have been recently approved by Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD.

A new website, www.floodinfo.ie, where people can view the community risk and measures in place, underway and now proposed to tackle flood risk in these 300 areas, and nationally. This map and plan viewer website is another important resource, to support planning, emergency response planning, and to empower people and communities to plan and respond to flood risk.