Report commissioned by Cork Council in wake of Midleton floods has not been published 

Two experts were commissioned by Cork County Council in 2024 to come up with nature-based solutions to aid flood protection projects following the Midleton floods. However — nearly 18 months on — the report has still not been published, amid ongoing concerns about flooding.

Storm Babet caused devastating floods in Midleton when it struck in October 2023 and Cork County Council and the Office of Public Works (OPW) are currently preparing the planning application for a major Midleton flood relief scheme. The scheme is likely to take more than a decade to complete, and the plans are due to be lodged next September.

A year after the destructive Midleton floods, two experts were commissioned by Cork County Council to come up with nature-based solutions to aid the planned flood protection projects.

Professor Mary Bourke from Trinity College Dublin and Paul Quinn, a senior research scientist at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen, were appointed to look at adopting measures in the region similar to successful projects that have been undertaken in Britain.

However, nearly 18 months later, the report on their findings has not yet been published.

Last October, Social Democrats Cork East TD Liam Quaide made an ‘access to information on the environment’ request for a copy of the report, but it was refused.

The council said at the time that the draft report was received from Prof Bourke and Mr Quinn in March 2025.

The council said it had reviewed the report and reverted to the authors with comments in early October 2025, and the senior executive engineer was then hopeful that an updated report could be provided to Cork County Council “by the end of 2025”.

Cork County Council told The Echo: “Cork County Council appointed Trinity College Dublin to carry out a stage one assessment on the potential for nature-based approaches for flood hazards upstream of Midleton, Co Cork, in July 2024.

“Cork County Council has reverted to the authors with comments.”

Mr Quaide raised the issue in the Dáil recently, telling Taoiseach Micheál Martin: “The urbanisation of our flood plains, and the mass removal of native trees and hedgerows in recent decades, have drastically reduced our land’s ability to hold excess water.

“Alongside conventional engineering schemes, we need to maximise our potential for nature-based approaches to flood management.

“There is a clear opportunity here for farmers to be paid a premium for taking measures such as the construction of leaky dams and ponds and the planting of native trees on their land.”

He said the county council commissioned a survey into such measures upstream from Midleton in August 2024.

“This report has still not been published, and there is little sign that this work is being actively pursued,” he said.

Nature-based solutions can often be delivered quickly, at relatively low cost and without the need for planning permission and are a win-win for people at risk of flooding, farmers and biodiversity, Mr Quaide said.

Mr Martin said: “The Government supports the nature-based approach to flooding and to dealing with these issues.

“The optimal position is the hard engineering projects but complemented and supplemented by nature-based measures. We need to engage with our agricultural community … We, in government, have more to do in that regard. I will be honest about that.”