The Office of Public Works (OPW) is currently ‘behind schedule’ in implementing action plans for existing flood-hit areas, despite Ireland already being impacted by climate-change-induced flooding, an Oireachtas committee will hear on Thursday. The OPW — the State’s property manager, which also holds responsibility for flood mitigation schemes across the country — will appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday, together with Met Éireann, to discuss the adaptation of ongoing flood management schemes to the impacts of climate change. “Recent attribution studies have shown that climate change is already impacting flood events,” Mr Conlon will tell the committee, adding that Ireland must “be prepared to deal with and manage the increased flood risk arising from climate change”. Despite this, the OPW has informed the PAC that the CCAC’s evaluation of the progress being made in terms of the delivery of the flood risk management sector is “’good’ overall in all of the assessments undertaken”. However, the agency has acknowledged that it is currently “behind schedule” on four of the 67 actions it is required to perform under the Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan, one of which is the instigation of ‘community climate action programmes’ for all 56 existing flood relief schemes.

Source: Irish Examiner March 18, 2026 19:36 UTC