The planning process regarding a long-term flooding solution at Lough Funshinagh, Co. Roscommon looks like it will be delayed.

Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), Kevin 'Boxer' Moran has met with representatives of Roscommon County Council to discuss the progress in relation to a flood relief solution.

The area is a designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC) turlough, which has experienced increasingly severe flooding in recent years.

These events, driven by extreme weather, have resulted in unprecedented water levels, flooding and flood risk to communities surrounding Lough Funshinagh.

These have also had a negative impact on the qualifying interests of the Lough Funshinagh SAC, according to Roscommon County Council.

Solutions for Lough Funshinagh?

The engineering consultants, appointed by Roscommon County Council, identified a solution to carry excess water from Lough Funshinagh to Lough Ree, also an SAC.

The completion of these construction works was challenged and ceased in 2022. Work then began to design and seek planning consent for a permanent solution.

Following the record high water level in April 2024, Roscommon County Council, the OPW and an expert working group developed a three-pronged approach to manage the immediate and long-term flood risk at Lough Funshinagh:

Individual Property Protection

To implement Individual Property Protection (IPP) for vulnerable dwellings in the short-term. These IPP measures were implemented in 2024 and 2025.

Interim Flood Relief Scheme

During 2024, an interim scheme was developed to manage water levels in Lough Funshinagh and allow time for a permanent solution to be identified and constructed.

Planning permission from the then An Bord Pleanála, for the interim scheme was granted in January 2025.

The water levels in Lough Funshinagh are managed by controlling the rate of flow to the Cross River which naturally discharges to the River Shannon at Coologoriff. These works were completed by April 2025.

Permanent Scheme

In late 2024, work recommenced on designing a permanent solution to manage the flood risk at Lough Funshinagh with the end of 2025 being the anticipated submission date of the planning consent application to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

The design process for the permanent scheme is now being more informed by:

The successful consent process for the Interim Flood Relief Scheme which included hydrology, hydraulic and environmental analysis;
The OPW’s Lough Funshinagh State of Knowledge Draft Report, dated 2024;
The environmental assessments, which include Natura Impact Statement and Environmental Impact Assessment Report, to support a planning consent application for the preferred design option.

Following preliminary studies and public consultation, the emerging preferred option, from the seven possible options, was presented to the public in April 2025.

The consultants are continuing to progress the environmental surveys and assessments necessary to support a planning application for this emerging preferred option, the council has confirmed.

The dual project objectives are managing the flood risk and minimising the impact on the environment in this area, according to the local authority.

As part of the process, the consultants have identified additional constraints on the emerging preferred route that warrants reassessment of all options.

As a result, this will extend the timeline for submitting a planning application to the second half of 2026.

"Given the history to this project, it is essential that the planning application is evidence based so it can withstand scrutiny and challenge through the planning process and any potential subsequent challenge to that process," the county council said in a statement.

Roscommon County Council and the OPW said they are satisfied that this extension of time, to submit to planning, will not increase the flood risk for the communities around Lough Funshinagh, given the benefit from the Interim Flood Relief Scheme and IPP works over the coming years.

The local authority added that it will continue to engage with all stakeholders in the first three months of 2026 and through regular communication and public consultations.