OPW confident court ruling will not affect Cork flood defence project

The Office of Public Works (OPW) says it’s confident its €140m Cork flood defence project — the largest in the history of the state — will not be affected by a European Court ruling that has stalled delivery of the first phase.

In a statement, the agency said it is aware of the European Court of Justice ruling, which has forced Cork City Council to abandon the Part 8 planning process for its €6m Morrison’s Island upgrades, which was to include flood defences, “but it is not currently envisaged that any flood relief schemes being progressed by the OPW will be impacted as flood relief schemes are screened for Appropriate Assessment (AA) with a Natura Impact Statement (NIS) being completed if required,” it said.