Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran announces the progression of the €55m Ballina Flood Relief Scheme to Detailed Design

Mr. Kevin 'Boxer' Moran TD, Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) announced today, 22 December 2025, that Mayo County Council has instructed its engineering consultants for the Ballina Flood Relief Scheme to commence the detailed design (Stage 3).

Speaking in Ballina today, Minister Moran said “I am very pleased to announce that commencing the detailed design for the €55m Ballina Flood Relief Scheme will allow for the appointment of contractors in 2027. I want to acknowledge the support from the Ballina community that was valuable to inform the design of a scheme for its town, which will protect 297 properties including 228 residential and family homes at risk from flooding. This public engagement has ensured that the needs of the community have been addressed in the design of the scheme.”

Today’s announcement follows the planning approval for Ballina Flood Relief Scheme issued by An Coimisiún Pleanála on 17 October 2025. The submission for planning included a very detailed engineering analysis, environmental assessment and engagement with the public on the sources of flooding from Ballina’s rivers and the options to protect the town. As part of the planning submission, a Marine Area Consent was obtained from the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA).

Kevin Kelly, Chief Executive, Mayo County Council said: "I welcome the progress to date of this much anticipated flood relief scheme. Mayo County Council, as lead authority for this flood relief scheme have recently secured planning approval and are currently within the Compulsory Purchase Order, CPO, process through An Coimisiún Pleanála. Progressing to stage 3 detailed design is a major step forward in the scheme.

Mayo County Council, as the principal response agency for flood events, have dealt with numerous instances of flooding in Ballina town over the past number of years. Flooding has been a major barrier to development of the town core along the river. Completion of this scheme will allow developments to progress, providing much needed housing and commercial developments within the town centre. We will continue to assist the OPW throughout the design and construction phases, minimising the impact of construction on the local community and providing much needed protection for the properties and public infrastructure at risk."

Ballina experiences regular flooding from the River Moy and its tributaries through a combination of river bank overflow and wall seepage. In 2018, following the Government’s introduction of Flood Risk Management Plans, Mayo County Council with funding from the OPW appointed RPS engineering and environmental consultants to design a flood relief scheme for Ballina.

The scheme design for Ballina provides for the construction of flood defence walls, construction of embankments and culvert upgrades along the River Moy and the Quignamanger, Bunree, Brusna, Tullyegan and Knockanelo tributaries.

Minister Moran concluded by highlighting “The Government is investing €94m in flood risk management across Mayo and that Ballina is one of three flood relief schemes for the county. A €2m Flood Relief Scheme is already in place in Westport in the Cois Abhainn & Ashwood estates, protecting 36 properties. A €34m flood relief scheme at Crossmolina has commenced construction by the OPW and will protect 116 properties.”

The cost of these schemes will be met from the Government’s commitment to managing Ireland’s flood risk through the commitment to funding of the flood relief measures set out in the National Development Plan. The design of this and all flood relief schemes is future proofed and is adaptable to meet the increasing flood risk from climate change.

In addition to these major schemes, the OPW has approved approximately €2.3m to Mayo County Council under the Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme for localised flood relief works across 37 other locations in the county.

For all media queries, please contact:

• Barry Nangle, OPW Press Officer, pressoffice@opw.ie

OPW Flood Relief Schemes – Editors Notes

• Flood relief schemes are implemented in five stages. They are large, complex, multiannual projects that face a variety of issues and challenges, many of which are neither predictable nor within the OPW’s control. These can include issues relating to ground conditions, timelines for consultations and planning decisions or a limited capacity within the engineering consultancy market. These challenges impact the timeline for flood relief schemes’ delivery, which can take up to ten years to design, develop and construct.
• The Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme is the most in depth study ever undertaken on flood risk in Ireland. Completed in 2018, the programme studied flood risk for two-thirds of the population against their risk of flooding from rivers and the sea.
• This work underpins the OPW’s approach to designing and constructing flood relief schemes for communities most at-risk and is supported through the National Development Plan.
• To date, 56 completed flood relief schemes are providing protection to some 13,580 properties and an economic benefit to the State in damages and losses avoided estimated to be in the region of some €2 billion nationwide.
• A full list of the completed schemes is here.
• Since 2018, the number of flood relief schemes at the design, planning, and construction stage has trebled to some 100 flood relief schemes. This is a result of the NDP investment that has enabled the OPW, in partnership with the local authorities, to progress this work.
• This means that the Government has completed or work is currently underway to protect 80% of properties at risk, based on the CFRAM Programme.
• At all times, the OPW strives to expedite and progress capital flood relief works with the minimum delay within the resources available to it.

A full list of schemes and further information is available on the www.floodinfo.ie website. All major schemes progressed since 2018 have individual websites. These provide relevant scheme information including timelines and budgets to the public.