Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)

I have questions for the Minister of State which he has heard me speak about before. The first is regarding EMFAF and FLAG funding. What provision has been made in the Revised Estimates? What provision, if any is the Minister of State planning to make in the forthcoming budget in respect of any change from outside of Ireland - whether it is the European Union or the Commission - in terms of EMFAF? FLAG funding is important for economic diversification, adding value and supporting and keeping our coastal communities as sustainable as they can be. My next questions relates to the Minister of State's engagement with the Department of public expenditure with regard to this process. I wish to ask in particular about the funding scheme for local authority-owned ports and harbours. The Minister of State will be familiar with the situation of Helvick, which is located in a Gaeltacht area of west Waterford in my constituency. It is full of sand and silt. The local authority cannot access that fund for the preparatory work that needs to take place. It is out of kilter with the standard procedure for other types of Government funding to local authorities for all sorts of projects be they roads, housing, development of enterprise centres, etc. It seems to be an outlier in that it is only for shovel-ready projects, dismissing the fact that preparatory work can often cost a huge amount more than dredging.