Dr. Cecil Beamish:

Many different types of damage occurred during the storms, whether they be urban flooding, damage to buildings or something that requires humanitarian assistance. These cut across a swathe of Government. We are seeking to use the Department's expertise, in conjunction with local authorities, to try to address a particular form of infrastructure that has been damaged and to support the fishing industry.

The expectations about disputes, etc., might be a little overstated. For several years, we have worked with local authorities. Deputy Pringle referred to the traditional relationship between them and the Department, including the issue of funding. This work is not completely new to local authorities. Their engineering departments are familiar with what our Department supports and what is not within our remit. There will not be as broad an area of confusion as is being suggested at this meeting. We have worked with the local authorities in advance of the funding provided by the Government. They will be invited to submit in accordance with that estimate. They will know reasonably well which of the projects that have been discussed for the past four or five weeks are eligible and how they can be supported.

The point about co-funding might have been overstated, in the sense that there is €8.8 million across nine counties, some 10% of works of that order. It is not an enormous sum, but it is divided across the counties.

Deputy Ó Cuív raised an issue about public infrastructure where legal ownership is unclear. Some of this dates back hundreds of years. The primary concern is that the focus of Government funding be on public infrastructure, not private. There may be some legal issues, but the local authorities will present us with their counties' priority projects and we will take that information at face value.