Five Locations Including Mallow Designated To Receive Flood Pumps And Mobile Barriers
Mallow is one of five locations designated to receive pumps and mobile water-filled flood barriers (aqua-dams), Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran has announced.
Sligo, Galway City, Mallow, Cavan and Portlaoise have been designated as the five locations to receive 20 pumps and mobile water-filled flood barriers (aqua-dams). The equipment will supplement local authorities' emergency equipment stocks.
Kevin 'Boxer' Moran TD, Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), announced the designations. He said these locations will make the new emergency response equipment available to all parts of the country. The release states that local authorities' management of the barriers and pumps will provide them with the agility and flexibility to further improve their response to flood events.
Following Storm Chandra, earlier this year, which affected the East and South East of the country, the Government tasked the OPW with procuring the pumps and mobile water-filled flood barriers. The OPW has worked closely with the County and City Management Association (CCMA) and the market to inform the acquisition of the equipment.
The OPW published a tender competition for the pumps and barriers over the summer, and the tender evaluations are currently being finalised. The Minister said it is expected that the frameworks to draw down the equipment will be in place and available to the local authorities by November 2026.
The Minister said that while the OPW has sourced the barriers and pumps, they will be managed by the local authorities. The equipment will be made available for deployment by local authorities nationally.
