Minister Kevin Moran announces approval to place a contract for construction of a culvert under the Howth Road as part of the River Wad Phase 1B Flood Relief Scheme

Kevin Moran, Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) announced today (22 May 2025) that following OPW approval, Dublin City Council will proceed with the placing of a contract to construct the culvert under the Howth Road as part of the River Wad Phase 1B Flood Relief Scheme.

Minister Moran said, "I am pleased to announce that following OPW approval, Dublin City Council will proceed with placing of this contract as part of the River Wad Phase 1B flood relief scheme. I wish to acknowledge the support from the community in the area that was valuable to inform the design of a scheme for this section of the River Wad, which will protect some 60 properties at risk from flooding. This phase will also help mitigate against the flooding that occurred in this area in August 2023."

The River Wad has a history of flooding particularly in 2008 and 2009 in the Donnycarney area following which a study was carried out of the entire River Wad catchment which resulted ultimately in a decision to progress a flood relief scheme for the River Wad in 3 parts. The first part, Phase 1A was completed in 2015 and this part, Phase 1B, is the second part. In 2020, Dublin City Council with funding from the OPW appointed Nicholas O’Dwyer Ltd., engineering and environmental consultants to design Phase 1B of the River Wad flood relief scheme.

The scheme design for this Phase 1B consists of the upgrade of the River Wad outfall at Clontarf seafront, which commenced April 2025, and the construction of a new culvert under the Howth Road.

Today’s announcement is the outcome of very detailed engineering analysis, environmental assessments and engagement with the public on the sources of flooding from the River Wad in this area.

Minister Moran concluded by highlighting that the government to date is investing approximately €202 million in flood risk management across County Dublin and that this scheme is one of seven active flood relief schemes being progressed in the county. Seven Flood relief schemes have already been completed in the County area, with the support of the OPW.

The cost of these schemes will be met from the government’s commitment to managing Ireland’s flood risk through the €1.3 billion for 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 €4.2 million to County Dublin under the Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme for localised flood relief works across some 23 other locations in the county.

For all media queries, please contact pressoffice@opw.ie

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 by €1.3 billion through the National Development Plan 2021–2030 (NDP).

To date, 55 schemes have been completed, at a cost of some €500 million. Over 13,500 properties are protected by these schemes providing an economic benefit estimated to be in the region of €2 billion.

A full list of the completed schemes.

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.