Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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296. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the National Flood Forecasting and Warning Service; the amount expended on the development of the service to date; the schedule of the persons and entities that have contributed to its development; and the date on which it is targeted to go live for the general public to access the service. [44927/24]

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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In 2016, the Government agreed to the establishment of a National Flood Forecasting and Warning Service (NFFWS) to enable members of the public and local authorities take more preparatory action to reduce the impact of flooding.

A Steering Group, which is comprised of representatives from the OPW (Chair), Met Éireann, the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the County and City Management Association, is steering and supporting the establishment of the new Service.

A staged approach is being taken to develop the NFFWS. International experience has shown that the provision, operation and maintenance of forecasting and warning services is resource-intensive, complex and has a relatively long development timeline.

Stage I (establishment phase) of the multi-stage development of the NFFWS has been completed and focused on National and Catchment level fluvial (river) and coastal flood forecasting. A Flood Forecasting Centre has been established in Met Éireann, with flood forecasts, flood advisory services, hydrological observations and Daily Flood Guidance Statements being provided to local authorities and other state agencies.

The NFFWS is providing information and guidance to decision making stakeholders such as the Local Authorities, the NDFEM and other agencies. The forecasting information is tailored for these stakeholders providing valuable information regarding the likelihood of river and/or coastal flooding which can be utilised by these stakeholders to manage flood risk and make decisions pertaining to emergency response measures. Met Éireann has provided training to the Local Authorities and other stakeholders on the use of the system and on the interpretation of the forecasts.

The next stage (Stage II) will further enhance the NFFWS leading to improved granularity and accuracy of forecasts and proposals involving the installation of new rainfall and flow gauges, improvements to the rainfall radar network and re-calibration of models after notable flood events amongst others. This will dovetail with the development of the warning aspect of the service.

Proposals and recommendations for the further development of the NFFWS are being prepared and will be brought to Government for consideration as soon as possible. Total expenditure to date, on the establishment and development of the NFFWS is €6.6m.

The timeline for when the flood forecasting information can be made available to the public, is currently under consideration.