The Office of Public Works (OPW) is to published maps of areas around the country which, historically, have been prone to flooding. The new maps will be available on an OPW website from the autumn.
Addressing an Oireachtas committee yesterday, Minister for the Environment Dick Roche said new maps would make clear to the public where flood risk existed. He said he would expect local authority planners would work with the OPW flooding maps in dealing with proposals for development.
The Minister told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment and Local Government that the new OPW maps will be based on records of previous floods around the country going back to the early 1900s.
"It is amazing how quickly public memory fades. It is always contentious as to where exactly a flood occurred," Mr Roche said.
