OPW plans for flood defence works to be published next year

The Office of Public Works is finalising plans to protect more than 300 communities in the country and hopes to publish a priority list of works for them next year.

The OPW has already spent €37m on a major study which it is hoped will ultimately translate in defences that will save communities who have had to cope with the trauma of flooding in the past and those which might be at risk in the future.

OPW chartered engineer Ezra Mac Manamon said some areas may need structural defences like flood barriers and earthworks, while other problems might be rectified by deepening rivers or creating water storage areas upstream.