Draft Statutory Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan for Flood Risk Management

As climate change increasingly affects weather patterns, the risk of flooding in Ireland has become a critical concern in relation to impacts on communities, infrastructure, the economy, and ecosystems. While it is necessary to try to mitigate the causes of climate change, Ireland should also prepare to adapt to Climate Change. The National Adaptation Framework (NAF) emphasises the importance of proactive strategies in managing climate risks. It states, "Adaptation must be an integral part of national planning to minimise the impacts of climate change and build resilience". This underscores the necessity of creating structured approaches to mitigate flooding risks, now and into the future, particularly as extreme weather events become more frequent and severe.

This Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan for Flood Risk Management has been prepared under the National Adaptation Framework and updates the 2019 Plan using newly available information on climate change and its potential impacts, developments in flood risk management since 2019 and the Guidelines for the preparation of the Sectoral Adaptation Plans.

This draft Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan for Flood Risk Management has been prepared for public consultation. The Sectoral Adaptation Plan for Flood Risk Management considers the impacts of climate change on flooding and flood risk, as well as on flood risk management. It sets out flood risk management’s goal, objectives and adaptation actions needed to ensure effective and sustainable management of flood risk into the future.

A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) Screening are currently being undertaken for the plan.

Public and stakeholder engagement is critical in developing sustainable long-term strategies for adapting flood risk management to climate change. The OPW welcomes all submissions, observations, and comments on the draft Plan, which will help inform the planned actions we take to adapt our flood risk policies to minimise the potential impact of climate change.

We are committed to engaging with stakeholders in a clear, open and transparent manner. Any person or organisation can make a submission in relation to this consultation.

Submissions will be accepted from 18th July 2025 to 15th August 2025, up to 5pm. Submissions will not be accepted outside this consultation period.

Submissions can be made to: frmsap@opw.ie or posted to:-

The Office of Public Works, Public Consultation, Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan for Flood Risk Management, 1GQ, George's Quay,Dublin 2, D02 Y098.

We are committed to engaging with stakeholders in a clear, open and transparent manner. Any person or organisation can make a submission in relation to this consultation. Individual responses to submissions will not be provided, however, all submissions and feedback will be considered before final decisions is made.

Please note that responses to this consultation are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (FOI), Access to Information on the Environment Regulations 2007-2018 (AIE) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Please also note that we may publish the contents of all submissions received to our consultations on our website. We will redact personal data prior to publication. In responding to this consultation, parties should clearly indicate where their responses contain personal information, commercially sensitive information or confidential information that they would not wish to be released under FOI, AIE or otherwise published.

We would like to draw your attention to our Data Privacy Notice that explains how and when we collect personal data, why we do so and how we treat this information. It also explains your rights in relation to the collection of personal information and how you can exercise those rights.