Planned Wicklow flood scheme will protect 778 properties and deliver €90.4m economic boost

By Hugh O'Farrell Walsh, The Wicklow People

The Arklow Flood Relief Scheme has been confirmed as one of the most economically significant single location flood protection projects in the State, with new figures showing it carries an estimated €90.4 million in economic benefits and will protect 778 properties once completed.

The figures come from a detailed national breakdown provided by junior minister Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, who outlined the status of more than 100 major flood relief schemes currently in design, planning or construction.

Within that national picture, Arklow stands out, not because Wicklow has multiple projects in the pipeline, it does not, but because it’s single scheme is one of the largest and most economically consequential in the country.

The minister’s table lists the Arklow Flood Relief Scheme at Stage III, the detailed design phase, confirming that the project has not yet advanced to public exhibition or construction.

A drawing of the proposed layout of the Arklow Flood Relief Scheme.

Stage III is a pivotal point in the OPW’s delivery process. It involves finalising engineering designs, preparing environmental assessments and refining cost estimates before a scheme can be formally exhibited and submitted for ministerial confirmation. Only after confirmation can construction begin.

Several other counties have schemes already at Stage IV, the construction stage, but Arklow remains in the design phase despite years of preparatory work.

The junior minister’s reply does not give timelines for progression, but the Stage III designation indicates that the project is still working through technical and statutory requirements.

The €90.4 million economic benefit attached to Arklow is unusually high for a single town scheme. Many counties with multiple active projects have lower combined benefit totals.

Flooding at Condren's lane in Arklow. Photo: Michael Kelly

The OPW’s figures show that Arklow’s projected benefit exceeds the totals recorded for counties such as Westmeath, Wexford, Laois, Kilkenny and Meath, even though those counties have between one and three active schemes each.

Only a few counties surpass Wicklow’s total, and most do so through several projects rather than a single one. The 778 properties due to be protected also place Arklow among the largest individual schemes nationally, matching Donegal’s total despite Donegal having nine active projects.

The scale of the Arklow scheme reflects the severity of flood risk in the town. The OPW’s Catchment‑based Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) study, completed in 2018, identified Arklow as one of Ireland’s most vulnerable communities, with significant risk from the Avoca River and tidal influences.

CFRAM examined 80pc of Ireland’s primary flood risk and identified solutions capable of protecting 95pc of that risk. Arklow’s scheme is one of those solutions, but its progression has been slower than many others in the national programme.

The data also highlights the broader context of flood relief delivery across the country. The government has committed €1.3 billion under the National Development Plan to protect approximately 23,000 properties nationwide.

Since 2018, the OPW has “trebled work on flood relief schemes” and invested €590 million in 57 completed projects, protecting 13,640 properties.

In 2025 alone, more than €100 million was spent on flood relief delivery, the highest annual expenditure to date. However, Arklow has not yet reached the construction phase where the majority of spending typically occurs.

Capacity constraints within the OPW, local authorities and the consultancy sector mean that not all schemes can be progressed simultaneously. As a result, the national programme has been divided into two tranches, with Tranche 1 schemes prioritised based on scale, deliverability and return on investment.

Arklow’s inclusion in the active pipeline confirms it is part of this prioritised tranche.

However, the absence of any other Wicklow schemes in the data highlights the county’s reliance on a single major project. The minister notes that work has yet to begin on approximately 50 Tranche 2 schemes nationally, but Wicklow does not feature among them.

For Arklow, the data provides the clearest official confirmation to date of the project’s scale and status. The €90 million economic benefit and 778 protected properties place it firmly among the top tier of national flood relief investments.

Yet its continued presence at Stage III highlights the slow pace of progress compared with schemes already under construction elsewhere.

The town has experienced repeated and damaging flood events over the past two decades, and the CFRAM study identified a comprehensive flood relief scheme as essential. The minister’s figures show that the State recognises the scale of the problem, but the delivery timeline remains uncertain.

With no other major flood relief schemes planned for Wicklow under the current tranche structure, the advancement of the Arklow project will determine the county’s flood protection trajectory for years to come.

The next milestone will be moving the scheme from design to public exhibition and, ultimately, to construction. Until then, Arklow’s plan remains one of Ireland’s most significant yet still pending flood relief projects.