Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, I thank the Deputy for her remarks. The minor works scheme is very important. We have an open-door policy in the Office of Public Works. The local authority is the key body which applies to the office to draw down funds, up to a maximum of €500,000, which is a significant sum of money. Some of the schemes could cost €20,000 or €30,000 but many of them cost €300,000 or €400,000 which are significant amounts of money.

For example, Carlow County Council, or in the case of Deputy Humphreys, Monaghan County Council, can apply on a 24-7 basis to the Office of Public Works and the information obtained in the application is put through a rigorous cost-benefit analysis. The criteria covering the scheme are on the website and are available for the public to peruse at any given time. The system churns out a number, for example, on a spend of €300,000, and tells us whether it provides value for money. The system is open and transparent. If the number is good we will then write back to the local authority and tell it to get the work done and we will provide funds. The system is working well.

I will provide a note of caution. I do not wish to dump on local authorities but it can be frustrating when the office provides expenditure for a local authority only to find that at the end of the year the money has not been spent. I accept there are contractual issues for local authorities but I wish to use the opportunity provided by the committee to get the view out that local authorities must spend the money they are given. We work in a strong partnership approach with local authorities on a range of issues. We have offices around the country where we work with them on flooding and hydrological issues. This is an important scheme and I would encourage local authorities to use the funding provided.

We have responsibility under the Arterial Drainage Act 1945 to look after some schemes but the great majority of schemes are under the control of local authorities or private landowners. Our key responsibility is under the Arterial Drainage Act and that is where our priority lies, notwithstanding the fact that budgets are always difficult. The minor works scheme is a very effective means of sorting out little problems. The key priority is, first, whether someone could die if a flood occurred, second, the number of houses that would be affected, and, third, the number of commercial properties affected. Farm land is important but I will not pretend that it is as important as someone’s house.