OPW Confirms €250,000 for Cork in €3 Million River Blockage Fund as Minor Works Scheme Expanded

Cork local authorities are set to receive a combined €250,000 as the Office of Public Works (OPW) today confirmed the allocation details of a €3 million once-off fund to remove river conveyance blockages across the country.

Cork County Council will receive €200,000 under the scheme, with Cork City Council allocated a further €50,000. The funding, first announced in August 2025, can be used to clear blockages at river crossings, bridges, and culverts that pose an immediate flood risk to properties.

Kevin 'Boxer' Moran TD, Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, also announced significant changes to the OPW's Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme, known as the Minor Works Scheme. The upper funding threshold for individual projects has been raised from €750,000 to €2 million, while the OPW's contribution rate has increased from 90% to 95% for approved funding above €300,000.

The Minister said:

"I am pleased to announce that the details of the revised criteria for the Minor Works Scheme are now available and will greatly increase the scope of the scheme and provides local authorities with a greater opportunity to address localised flood and coastal erosion risk within their administrative areas."

The Minor Works Scheme has been in operation since 2009 and has seen some €70 million approved across 930 projects, delivering flood mitigation and coastal protection for some 8,000 properties nationwide.

Minister Moran said he had drawn on lessons from Storm Chandra, following which €6.6 million was allocated after he met with certain local authorities impacted by that event. He said:

"I have taken the lessons learned from Strom [sic] Chandra and other storms, and today I am announcing that this revised Minor Works Scheme is being expanded to further provide for interim flood mitigation measures for communities where a major flood relief scheme is planned, but not complete."

The revised scheme will also broaden support for local authorities dealing with coastal erosion, with some economic criteria relaxed to lower the threshold for viable solutions.

The OPW will write to local authorities today with full details, and supporting documentation will be available on the OPW website in the coming days.