Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the capital scheme. The provision of €8.8 million for nine counties is significant. I do not share the concerns that have been expressed regarding the ability of local authorities to come up with 10%, or €800,000, of that sum nationally. If it is spread equally across the nine counties, the requirement will be somewhere in the region of €80,000 to €90,000 per local authority. My experience with Cork County Council is that the chief concern was to secure national funding. The local contribution was never an issue if the departmental funding was put in place. If other local authorities encounter a difficulty in coming forward with their 10% contribution, I am sure Cork County Council will be happy to lift a heavier share of the burden. Will the delegates indicate how the estimate of €8.8 million was reached? Was it based on preliminary assessment figures submitted by local authorities in the past month? If so, I assume it does not take into account any damage that was done in recent days.

An issue of concern, in the context of the increased activity that will take place after the moneys are allocated under the capital scheme, is that there are not many contractors who are skilled in these types of marine infrastructure projects. It is not run-of-the-mill construction work, with people having to work with tides, underwater and so on. Has the Department done any assessment of how the specialised nature of the work might affect the tendering process and the financial implications arising therefrom? If there are insufficient numbers of qualified contractors, will that have the effect of bumping up prices?

Are there any issues regarding planning approvals, planning applications or foreshore licences which might cause delays on any of the projects? Was any assessment done of whether overlaps arise in terms of projects submitted under the scheme having been previously submitted as priority projects for local authorities in recent years? It seems logical, for example, that some of the piers that were damaged in recent days were already damaged to some degree and already requiring repair. Such piers would be the first to crumble under weather pressure. Was account taken of that issue when the assessment was done?

Nine counties are to be allocated funding under the scheme. Will the officials indicate whether some of those counties have been identified as being more severely affected than others in terms of damage to sea walls and other coastal infrastructure?