Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Patrick O’Donovan, has announced the approval of Cork County Council’s application for additional funding under the Office of Public Works’ Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme. Under the scheme, the Office of Public Works (OPW) has approved funding of €225,361 in addition to €346,500 it had approved in February 2018 due to increased costs since the original approval. This will allow the council to lay 940 metres of pipe from the northern boundary of the nursery (Irish Plant Propagation Ltd.) to the outfall to the existing stream in Ballintubber.
Welcoming the approval, Minister O’Donovan said, “I am pleased to announce that the additional funding required by Cork County Council to progress the necessary flood mitigation works in Ballintubber has been approved by the OPW. Since the introduction of this scheme in 2009, 40 applications by Cork County Council and over 800 across the country have been approved, enabling local authorities to undertake similar minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative areas.”