Nearly 300 flood-prone sites were proposed for rezoning by councillors

Almost 300 sites that are prone to flooding were put forward for rezoning by councillors in the past six years, figures from the planning regulator have shown.

The Irish Times reports that the regulator had to intervene 93 times to prevent the rezoning from going ahead, warning of the possibility of flooding if construction was given a green light.

In a third of these cases, the intervention of the regulator's office was not accepted, and it had to ask the minister in charge to issue a formal legal direction not to proceed.

These were issued to county councils in Clare, Galway, Mayo, Donegal, Meath, Monaghan and Wicklow, and Galway City Council and Limerick City and County Council.

Another nine cases in Donegal and Sligo are the subject of requests to the Minister.

According to the regulator's office, managing flood risk is now a "frequent theme" when it comes to its recommendations to local authorities regarding planning and development, the Irish Times reports.

Last week, the Minister of State with responsibility for flood defences, Kevin "Boxer" Moran, had said that future homes built on flood-prone land would not receive any publicly funded flood defences.

He said that this was something he was making "clear".

"I'm appealing to every local authority, particularly when the pressure comes on now, in terms of homes to be built; if a house is built on a floodplain, it will not be defended,” he said.

The figures come as the country has suffered from a series of storms and heavy flooding over the last few weeks.

A spokesperson for the planning regulator told the Irish Times: "Development on land at risk of flooding affects people and communities who live there and can increase flood risk in other areas, by reducing the capacity for floodwater storage on floodplains.

“This issue is becoming more urgent due to increased rainfall driven by climate change.

“It is a core part of our work within the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) to ensure flood risk management informs the zoning of land, avoiding inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding.”