Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the committee. Many of my questions deal with flood risk management. In the capital allocation for 2021, €88 million was allocated for flood risk management. In 2020 it was €88 million. Back in 2019 the chair of the Office of Public Works made a pitch to the Department that the funding needed in 2019 was €103 million, in 2020 was €112 million in for 2021 was €114 million to continue to provide existing services and implement the flood protection schemes in 30 areas in the CFRAM proposals. The allocations provided to the OPW were €70 million less than this over the three years. Will the Minister of State explain this? I am conscious of planning issues but I am also conscious of the fact that if the Minister of State does not have the money he cannot authorise a scheme to go to the next stage. Even before a scheme can go to planning or somebody can object to it, the design will need to be done.

I am sure there are many schemes in my constituency, and the constituencies of others, that have not been able to go on to that stage because the funding was not required. Will the Minister of State explain why the request of the OPW at that time was left €70 million short in respect of flood risk management?