Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

To date, the amount of funding which was approved to local authorities since the scheme was introduced is €37.621 million and the local authorities have drawn down €30.421 million. The value of works directly undertaken by the OPW is €1.5 million. The number of approved projects is 597 and the number of them that have been completed is 435. The estimated number of properties that were protected is 6,153. On average, each year there is approximately €3 million being spent on minor works. There is no reduction in the funding as such because we will fund what the local authorities seek. In terms of what they have sought, there may have been a spike that refers back to 2014 when there was an allocation of €9.34 million and the following year it was €16.83 million. However, those figures are related to storm damage. There was a specific fund for storm damage at the time, whereas the normal minor works flood relief schemes are averaging approximately €3 million per annum. There is no reduction. We pay out based on the funds that are applied for by the local authorities, which averages at approximately €3 million per year.