Final cost of Athlone flood defence scheme now approaches €36 million

The likely final cost of the Athlone Flood Defences project has now climbed to almost €36 million, it has been estimated.

In a report published on Tuesday, the State’s spending watchdog, the Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG), said at the end of 2025 the expected total spend on the project was €35.76m.

This represented a €3.6m increase in what the C&AG had estimated the final cost was likely to be in its 2024 report.

The report said: “The increase in project budget is attributable to the wider scope of works being incorporated into the final design and also the impact of construction inflation.”

The figures, published as part of the Appropriation Accounts for 2025, show that €31.45m had been spent on the scheme by the end of 2025, with another €4.31m committed for further years.

The Athlone Flood Alleviation Scheme is being led by Westmeath County Council with funding provided by Office of Public Works (OPW), which is also undertaking the construction of the scheme directly.

The scheme comprises eight separate cells of flood defences at Deerpark, The Strand, The Quay, Brick Island, Marine View, Iona Park, River Al (Creggan), and Golden Island.

It involves some five kilometres of flood defences, comprising 2.5 kilometres of flood walls, and 2.5 kilometres of flood embankments, 38 flood gates, eight pump stations and about 6.5 kilometres of service diversions. It is expected to protect some 500 homes and 55 commercial properties.

When first announced in 2016, the Athlone Flood Alleviation Scheme was originally given a pricetag of €6 million.

However, the scheme has expanded in scope and detail since then.

Work began in November 2017, and deadlines for its completion have been regularly extended.

In April 2023, members of the Athlone Moate Municipal District were told it would be completed by the first quarter of 2024.

In September 2024, another update pushed the anticipated completion date for the flood alleviation scheme to early 2025.

The Dáil was told in February 2026 that the scheme would be ‘substantially complete’ by the third quarter of 2026, though this excludes a proposed flood cell at River Al, where an environmental impact assessment and planning consent is required before it can progress.

In July, the Dáil was given a revised completion timeline into 2027.

In a written answer in February to a query by Deputy Sorca Clarke, OPW Minister Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran said delays to the scheme were incurred as a result of prolonged elevated water levels on the River Shannon and the introduction of high quality masonry finishes to the flood walls, together with scope development during the construction phase.

“Co-ordination of flood alleviation works around the Main Drainage Scheme also resulted in numerous work fronts being rescheduled.

“Delays due to archaeological issues attributed to significant delay to works on Flood Cell 2, The Strand and Flood Cell 3, The Quay,” Minister Moran added, noting, too, that the Covid-19 pandemic had dramatically impacted on works progress during 2020 and much of 2021.