Galway County Council has this week welcomed confirmation from the Office of Public Works that the Ballinasloe Flood Relief Scheme will advance to the planning phase during the first half of 2026 – marking a key milestone in efforts to address long-standing flood risks in the town.

The progression will follow the successful completion of detailed scheme design and environmental assessment work.

The announcement was made during a meeting between Galway County Council and Minister of State for the OPW Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, as well as fellow Ministers of State Seán Canney and Noel Grealish.

During the meeting, progress updates were also provided on other local flood relief projects.

Schemes in Clifden and Portumna are each advancing through different stages of development, while the Gort Lowlands scheme is nearing completion of its final environmental assessment and is due to be submitted to the OPW shortly.

Cllr. David Collins, Cathaoirleach of the County of Galway, welcomed the news.

“Flooding has had a devastating impact on Ballinasloe’s residents, businesses, and essential infrastructure,” he said.

“It’s encouraging to see meaningful progress being made. We look forward to working closely with the OPW and project teams as the scheme moves towards planning early next year.”

Liam Conneally, Chief Executive of Galway County Council, said that the scheme represented ‘a long-term solution to significantly reduce flood risk in Ballinasloe and support the sustainable development of the town’.

“We are committed to supporting the OPW and ensuring this much-needed project is advanced without delay,” he said.

Ballinasloe has faced significant flood events, most notably in November 2009 and during the 2015/2016 winter, primarily due to the River Suck, the Deerpark River, and surrounding tributaries.

To address this risk, the OPW conducted a Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Study under its national programme.

The Shannon Catchment Flood Risk Management Plan, finalised in May 2018, identified Ballinasloe as a high-risk area and recommended the development of a dedicated flood relief scheme.

In collaboration with Galway County Council, the OPW appointed Arup, in partnership with Hydro-Environmental Ltd., to lead the scheme’s engineering design. Ryan Hanley Ltd. was tasked with carrying out the necessary environmental assessments to guide the planning and development process.

Pictured after an update at Áras an Chontae on the Ballinasloe Flood Relief Scheme were (from left) Deputy John Connolly, Deputy Mairead Farrell, Minister of State Noel Grealish, Minister of State Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, Minister of State Seán Canney, Cathaoirleach of the County of Galway Cllr. David Collins, (Brendan McDonagh, Executive Engineer, Galway County Council; Enda Gallagher, Senior Executive Engineer, GCC, and GCC CE Liam Conneally.