Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I echo the Acting Chairman's words of congratulations to Deputy Michael McNamara and his fiancee and wish them both the very best on their recent engagement.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter which, in fairness to him, he has consistently raised with me since my appointment to this role eight or nine months ago. Ireland is a maritime nation and so coastal flooding and erosion are understandable subjects of concern to communities living around our coast. As the Deputy said, the issues were particularly brought to the fore last winter, when substantial damage was caused to coastal infrastructure in a series of severe storms during the period December 2013 to February 2014.

The carrying out of appropriate studies is essential in addressing coastal protection issues. Coastal erosion is a natural and ongoing process which takes place around the entire coastline. Coastal erosion may threaten human life, infrastructure, such as roads, and may undermine and cause damage to properties. However, it should also be recognised that coastal erosion also has beneficial effects to the local environment, such as providing natural nourishment and supply of sediment to adjacent beaches.

Due to the considerable extent and nature of the Irish coastline impacted by erosion and the fact that it is an ongoing natural process, it would be uneconomical and impractical for the State to attempt to protect all of this coastline, which we all accept. We must be prepared to accept this reality and the implications it has in terms of policies to be adopted and decisions to be made on how we manage the future development of our coastal environments and the impact of this on the communities that reside therein.

On 11 February 2014, the Government allocated total funding of up to €69.5 million for clean-up, repair and restoration works in regard to public infrastructure damaged in the storms during the period 13 December 2013 to 6 January 2014. Of this sum of €69.5 million, up to €19.6 million was allocated through the Office of Public Works for repair of existing coastal protection and flood defences based on submissions and cost estimates made by the local authorities concerned to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. In the case of County Clare, a sum of up to €8,276,433 was allocated to the county council. Based on this allocation, the council subsequently submitted a programme of storm damage repair works at 26 locations in the county for approval by the OPW. This was approved by the OPW on 13 May 2014.

To date, a total of €1,182,155 has been drawn down by the council. The council has indicated to my office that works are ongoing at other locations on its programme and that it expects to draw down the bulk of the balance of the funding allocated by the Government decision during this year. Provision has been made in the OPW's allocation for 2015 to enable local authorities to draw down this year any outstanding balance of the funding allocated to them.

Clare County Council has indicated that it proposes to undertake a programme of major coastal defence enhancement projects at a total of ten locations over the next three to four years, with an indicative estimate of cost of €15 million to €20 million. These projects are for new or significantly upgraded or strengthened coastal protection structures. As such they fall outside of the scope of the Government decision which related to repair works only.

It is a matter for each local authority in the first instance to identify and address priority areas of their respective coastlines considered to be under significant threat from flooding or erosion and Clare County Council may carry out flood mitigation and coastal protection works and studies using its own resources. In putting forward proposals to central government for funding of appropriate erosion management measures, it is a requirement that any such proposals and funding applications for structural measures to prevent or mitigate coastal erosion are put forward in conjunction with an appropriate coastal erosion risk management or feasibility study which fully investigates, substantiates and demonstrates the merits of any measures being proposed. Such measures usually require the investment of substantial amounts of public funds and in order to ensure value for money, a study to assess the viability of any proposed measures must be carried out in advance.

To answer the Deputy's question directly, we have received a request from Clare County Council for funding to undertake studies to examine if there are viable measures that could be progressed at seven locations. The application in respect of Clohanhinchy was submitted in 2014 and I was pleased we were in a position to provide funding. The applications in respect of the other locations were received last month, they are currently being considered and a decision will be made shortly in this regard.

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