Update issued on status of flood relief schemes across County Kilkenny

Updates were recently issued on the status of flood relief schemes across County Kilkenny by Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, Patrick O'Donovan TD.

Minister O'Donovan provided the details following a query from Deputy John McGuinness, Chairman of the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach.

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"We have very much engaged with Kilkenny County Council, as the Chairman will know," O'Donovan said.

"Graignamanagh is the first one and, hopefully, there will be planning in August 2023 and completion in 2027.

"Ballyhale is at planning and there are compulsory purchase order, CPO, issues with Kilkenny County Council.

"The remainder of the schemes at Freshford, Pilltown, Inistioge and Thomastown are in the second tranche of the catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, programme."

Deputy McGuinness then raised the point with the Minister that Freshford was flooded very badly recently and 'is at a higher risk than before'.

"Is there a timeframe? Where is Freshford in the scheme of things?", McGuinness asked.

"The Chairman is right about the extensive damage because 30 properties and two businesses were flooded, and there was a lot of land and infrastructural damage," Minister O'Donovan responded.

"The OPW is in discussions with Kilkenny County Council to see if there is some way to move the scheme forward. Kilkenny County Council is due to deliver its report to the Office of Public Works and we expect that shortly.

"With regard to the other schemes in the second tranche, our staff in the Office of Public Works are engaging with the directors of services in each of the individual local authorities because we do resource engineers in individual local authorities, including Kilkenny.

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"We do that to ascertain whether, were additional resources to be applied, it would be of benefit to the council in terms of doing some of the preliminary works around collecting the data that will be needed to present a planning application that is likely to succeed.

"We are having that discussion with Kilkenny County Council at the moment."