The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration published its sectoral investment plan on 4 December last. The second phase of the plan is to focus on bringing the projects for Dublin metropolitan region, DMR, north, to construction in 2028. Following the publication of these priorities, the OPW will engage with An Garda Síochána and the Department of justice. This engagement will support the identification and appraisal of the most suitable site for this project.
Sentiment score: 0.48
The Deputy has raised this consistently at committee meetings and in the House, and I agree with him about the timeframe and the delays. As he is well aware, however, I am the contracting authority. I build the Garda station when a particular project is presented to me. As already stated, money has been provided for the station. My Department will work closely with the Department of justice and An Garda Síochána. I cannot explain why work at the site to which the Deputy refers did not go ahead. However, I can tell the Deputy that the money for the project has been made available through the development plan. My job is to work with the Department of justice. When we find a site, we will get on with the job. We are delivering Garda stations around the country. The projects in this regard are very slow - I am not taking away from that - but an awful lot of work goes into identifying sites and building stations.
Sentiment score: 0.10
It was seven years ago, as the Deputy said. A site was identified, but I cannot tell the Deputy why the project did not go ahead. I have been out of government for five years. I am back. The Deputy raised this with me at committee level. I reached out to the Department of justice, on his behalf and on that of other Deputies who represent the area, to try to bring this scheme forward. I am asked every type of question in this House about the building of Garda stations. As stated, I am the contracting authority. Until a project comes before me, I cannot build. When a project does come before me, I will do it. I will speak to the Minister for justice in order to see how we can expedite this matter and bring it to a conclusion. I promise the Deputy that.
Sentiment score: 0.13
Dublin City Council and South Dublin County Council, with funding provided by the OPW, are leading the development and design of the River Camac flood alleviation scheme to manage the flooding risk within the catchment of the River Camac to protect some 413 properties. The River Camac is an unusually complex river system, and has presented significant challenges during the modelling of the flood risk and the design options for a flood relief scheme. Work on the modelling of the flood risk is continuing and it is programmed to be completed later this year. There are monthly meetings of the steering group between the council, the OPW and the consultants to complete this work. The proposed Camac flood alleviation scheme may include the construction of new flood defence walls with floodgates and the possible strengthening and raising of existing flood defence walls. The construction of new flood defence embankments is in addition to the possible raising of existing embankments. The current estimated cost for the delivery of the scheme is €50 million. It is open to Dublin City Council to apply to the OPW for funding for flood mitigation works under the OPW's minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme in advance of the delivery of the main scheme. The purpose of the scheme is to provide funding to local authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative areas. The OPW welcomes applications for funding under the scheme and is available to engage with local authorities. I know first hand the pain people out there are going through out there. As I said to the Deputy, while we are waiting for the long-term scheme, there is a strong possibility that the local authority could engage around the minor works programme. I have not spoken to the Deputy before in relation to this but I have visited a lot of the areas up and down the country. I tell people that I read the water and I understand when there is a flood. I watch where the water recedes and follow the water paths. I always look at them in the context of a minor works application or some solution being found. I believe one can be found here.
Sentiment score: 0.13
In the first instance, it is up to the local authority to come forward with the scheme and the Deputy can play a pivotal role in doing that. She can go into the local authority and ask what stage it is at and look to engage with me. The Deputy can be part of that. It is about us all working together. Communities are being affected up and down the country. My job is as Minister of State but I keep saying in the House that I need help from all the public representatives as well as TDs to drive on these schemes. There is a minor works scheme and funding has been increased from €750,000 to €2 million. It is open to all local authorities to come in and identify a solution in the short term while we are waiting. I agree with the Deputy that this has been going on quite a long time. To bring it to the next stage, if the Deputy can get the local authorities to agree, I will meet with it to see if we can push it on together.
Sentiment score: 0.27
I cannot be more clear than to say it is driven by the local authorities. They work with my Department. There are significant delays in the modelling but I am giving the Deputy a way to alleviate that pressure through the minor works programme while we wait for the overall scheme. The local authorities have it within their remit to do that. While I fully appreciate the pressure the Deputy is under from the local community, delivering protection to the local community is very important. Local authorities are the people who drive on these schemes. We support them with the advice and the finance but we also help them to deliver schemes. The local authorities know only too well about the minor works scheme and I believe they can play a pivotal role in delivering an interim solution to the problem the Deputy is raising. I will go further and will talk to the local authorities for the Deputy. As I said, everywhere is gone over the last 15 days, I have to intervene to try to drive on schemes, when the local authorities have the resources - sometimes we are funding them - and the means to get on with the scheme. People will say it is the OPW but it is not and we have to wake up to that. We all have to work together. I am sick of saying that in this House. We should not play politics with flooding. Sometimes we do have to say the scheme is there and the money is there, so get a scheme in place in the interim to deliver part of the long-term solution. As the Deputy has asked me, I will make phone calls to see how I can drive on the scheme further.
Sentiment score: 0.06
I am very familiar with the coastal erosion and flooding issues in Kerry having visited the county twice, on 11 and 12 September and on 20 and 21 November 2025. Localised coastal erosion and flooding issues are a matter, in the first instance, for each local authority to investigate and address. The OPW is working closely with Kerry County Council to implement a number of initiatives to tackle coastal erosion and flooding in the county. We are currently funding three local authority staff in Kerry County Council to manage the delivery of flood relief schemes: a senior executive engineer, an executive engineer and a senior staff member. The minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme was introduced by the Office of Public Works in 2009. The purpose of this scheme is to provide 90% of funding to local authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works and studies to address localised flooding or coastal erosion problems. The scheme generally applies where a solution can be readily identified and achieved in a short timeframe. The funding available for each scheme has recently been increased from €750,000 to €2 million. Further details related to this are due to be announced shortly. The minor works scheme is a demand-led scheme. Funding allocated is based on the cost submitted by the local authorities for consideration. Since 2009, the OPW has approved some 40 projects and €4.2 million for Kerry County Council under the minor works schemes. Some €2.9 million of this approved funding relates to coastal erosion works and studies. Funding has been made available to Kerry County Council, totalling €897,405, for works or studies at Rossbeigh, Waterville, Kenmare, Glenbeigh and Cromane Lower through the minor works scheme. I have a long list of other schemes that I can give to the Deputy afterwards.
Sentiment score: 0.10
Looking at the figures, there was €24,000 for the seawall in north Kerry through the minor works scheme. For the North Kerry Way, there was €18,000 through the minor works scheme. There was €150,000 for Tralee Bay, and €44,000 for Tralee itself. For the Fenit Road, there was €405,000, and €360,000 for the Fenit Road Lower. Over €1 million has been given out in recent years. There was €216,000 for Cromane Lower, €35,000 for Waterville, €450,000 for Rossbeigh and €195,000 for Glenbeigh. The OPW has not been found wanting in supporting Kerry and the local authority. The Deputy knows of my visit there in recent weeks, before Christmas, where we came with interim solutions for different parts of Kerry. We are now looking at coastal areas, but this is driven, in the first instance, by the local authority. I appeal to the Deputy to go out to Portrane to see what the local authority has done to get a licence from the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, to deal with flooding. We need local authorities to step up and apply for these licences. In order to apply, they have to show where they are going to carry out works and provide protection to people along the coast. If they do that, they can apply for a MARA licence. I thank the staff in MARA because it is the first time ever we got a licence to do work along the coast. The Deputy can see in Portrane the work that was done to protect that area. I advise Deputy Cahill, as I advise every Deputy in the House, to follow suit and deliver for his community through the local authorities.
Sentiment score: 0.07
Deputy Cahill is right that I visited Cromane. I met with Michael Healy-Rae's colleague in relation to the same issue only yesterday. I asked him to ask the local authority to come in with minor works for Cromane, and it will be dealt with. Let us call a spade a spade. When I visited the place during Christmas week, I identified areas that could get protection. I looked at the street and we identified one shop, a chemist, that did not flood. Why did it not flood? It put in its own individual property protection, IPP. I reached out that day to the local authorities to look at an IPP system through the minor works programme. I await that because I cannot drive it. I ask the Deputy to drive that with the local authority. We talked about the flooding of recent days. After the devastation that happened in Enniscorthy, when we were talking about more rain my biggest concern was County Louth. Deputy Ó Murchú's colleagues in the House rang me. I was fearful. My team in the OPW met with the local authorities last week and will continue to engage. I need the local authorities to push on. I am providing staff to the local authority to deliver on those schemes.
Sentiment score: -0.01