OPW Benefiting Areas Notified to Insurance Ireland

Abstract: The Office of Public Works (OPW) is responsible for leading and co-ordinating the implementation of localised flood relief schemes to provide flood protection for cities, towns and villages, either directly or in association with relevant Local Authorities. This data outlines the areas benefiting from such flood relief schemes, the date of completion and the design standard. A Benefitting Area is defined as the area that benefits from the implementation of the measures within an Option or Scheme, including improvements to conveyance such as channel widening or deepening, and culvert upgrades. In 2014, the OPW agreed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Insurance Ireland, the representative body for insurance companies in Ireland. Under the terms of the MOU, Insurance Ireland requires the OPW to provide it with data on OPW completed flood defence schemes, which shows the design, extent and nature of the protections offered by these works. The OPW requires that insurers, who are party to the agreement, take full account of the information provided by the OPW when assessing exposure to flood risk for private dwellings and small businesses. The MoU between the OPW and Insurance Ireland can be found using the following link: https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/70297/e45e83c5fdac4709ade69b77a56c59d2.pdf#page=1

Purpose: The data has been developed to inform the implementation of Flood Relief Schemes (FRS) to provide flood protection for cities, towns and villages and to describe the FRS characteristics and benefits. This includes a planned programme of prioritised, feasible works in accordance with the National Flood Risk Policy (2004) and to achieve the objectives of the Flood Risk Management Plans developed under the European Communities (Assessment and Management of Flood Risks) Regulations 2010 to 2015 (the “Regulations”) (implementing Directive 2007/60/EC).