The flood relief scheme in Kilkee has been ongoing for many years. I would appreciate a detailed update on what has happened so far, when can the people of Kilkee expect construction to begin on this important scheme for the town and on when will it be completed.

Since 2018, and working with the local authority, the OPW has increased the number of flood relief schemes at design and construction by 100. This includes the Kilkee flood relief scheme, which is planned to protect 134 properties. The OPW is funding two staff members in Clare County Council to lead the delivery of flood relief schemes across the county. The county council is working in partnership with the OPW. Clare County Council submitted a Part 10 planning application for the first phase of the Kilkee flood relief scheme to An Coimisiún Pleanála on 2 October 2024, which was granted planning approval on 20 August 2025. The Kilkee flood relief scheme is now completing the detailed design for the construction of the scheme.

In conjunction with and informed by the detailed design process, Clare County Council will require compulsory purchase orders for the scheme to proceed to construction. Delays in finalising the CPO documentation arose due to changes in land ownership and difficulties in confirming ownership. The council is currently preparing the CPO application for the scheme involving 66 CPO schedules and plans to submit an application to An Coimisiún Pleanála at the end of 2026. Subject to approval, Clare County Council expects that construction of the scheme will commence in early 2028. The scheme is expected to be completed in mid-2030. The scheme’s total project budget is €8.5 million and to date, €1.4 million has been spent. To progress the scheme and management of overall risk in Kilkee as efficiently as possible, the project steering group decided to advance the project in two phases.

The first phase will address the most significant flood risk to properties arising from the fluvial flooding from the Victoria, Well and Atlantic streams. The second phase will address the coastal flood risk and will require additional studies. Clare County Council is considering the tender documentation for the appointment of specialist consultants to undertake the necessary investigations and develop an appropriate coastal protection scheme. Clare County Council will continue to engage with landowners, stakeholders and the local community throughout the delivery of both phases of the scheme.

Clare County Council has been approved some €178,000 through the OPW's minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme for works to strengthen the sea wall in Kilkee.

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I welcome progress that has been made so far, and I commend the staff of Clare County Council and the OPW on their approach to this project. The community engagement has been fantastic and is a best practice example.

The scheme has taken more than seven years to get to this point, it might be nine or ten years before construction is completed, and in all that time, the homeowners in Kilkee have been at risk of flooding from streams and rivers. This is stressful for all those impacted and we really should be delivering these projects much faster. What is the average length of time to deliver these schemes and how does that compare to other countries? Has any work been done on what causes these delays and are there any processes that could be sped up to ensure faster delivery of these schemes?

I appreciate where the Deputy is coming from. The Deputy is on the ground and will be well aware that the delays with the compulsory purchase orders came about because of issues concerning who owns the land. In fairness to the local authority, it is working to deliver the planning to An Coimisiún Pleanála. We will work towards that with the council.

We are no different than any other country. I was in Australia for St. Patrick's Day and visited many areas, including ones that had flooded. While I was over there, Queensland flooded. It does things quite similarly to us. Sometimes, we are better. At other times, it is better. However, the issues delaying matters are the same.

We have one chance to get these projects right, and while it has taken time, every scheme we have built so far has stuck with regard to flooding and protecting communities. I want to make sure that we do that for the people and area of Kilkee.

I have to acknowledge the work of the local authorities. At the Deputy's request, I visited this year and we had a long discussion on how we could move things on. As I told the Deputy's colleague beside him, I have done that with the changes I have made. There is a mechanism now for councils to speed up processes and the delivery with interim measures while we wait for the commission. We have seen that in the eight local authorities that have provided that funding for flooding this year and the work they have done.

It is good to hear that. I would like to ask about the coastal flooding scheme for Kilkee. It is one of the country's best loved coastal resorts, as we are all well aware, with a history of visitors going back over 200 years. The beach, the seafront and the easy access to the ocean are all at the core of its offering. Of course, this brings with it the risk of damage from the more severe storms that we are seeing at present. Public property, roads and private homes all need to be protected, but it is also vital that whatever solutions are developed do not have a negative impact on the reason Kilkee has been so popular for so long.

I hope that there will be the same openness and innovative solutions that have shown by the current project team in dealing with the flooding from rivers. It is critical that the coastal protection aspect be progressed soon. I would welcome a further update on when that might begin.

I have broken the scheme into two halves, which I have outlined. Having visited the local authorities, I know that the €750,000 was not enough to deliver on some of these bigger projects, such as the seafront the Deputy mentioned. I have changed that from €750,000 to €2 million. This allows the local authorities to come in and avail of that funding to help deal with issues while they wait for the long-term scheme.

I have been very proactive in trying to work with local authorities on delivering these schemes and making it easier for them. I am even providing staff to every local authority in the country to help speed up the process of delivery. It takes 11 years to do a scheme. I am looking at ways to try to shorten that. At this moment, I might be able to shave eight, nine, ten or 12 months off a scheme, but I cannot give a commitment to that yet. We are working towards that, though.

We have to get everything right once we go in for planning. We have seen in the past where other applications went in and failed and we had to go back to the drawing board again. That puts more frustration on people, so it is about dotting the i's, crossing the t's and making sure that we have everything before we go in.