Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cavan County Council and its officials have an excellent relationship with the officials of the Office of Public Works, OPW. I have attended meetings, along with other public representatives, between the council and the OPW and have seen that good co-operation. I would like to ensure the applications are progressed as quickly as possible. We have a larger scale project which would benefit Cavan town and its surrounds. It would come under the CFRAM, catchment flood risk assessment and management, programme.

Over the next two years, I hope the Minister of State will ensure additional funding is provided to that particular scheme because of the benefits it could bring to many households. As I said earlier, it could change the lifestyle of those affected in the areas in question. Some older people actually leave their homes during the months when the areas are susceptible to flooding. We have to ensure that people are not discommoded to that extent as much as is possible. That type of small-scale financial investment can mean so much to many families and communities.

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