Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I went to Midleton the day after the storm. The floods were just receding. It was remarkable to see the work of the local authorities and various other State agencies managing the crippling impact on the town and surrounding areas, including Glanmire. We committed then, and I recommit here today, that whatever was needed to restore the roads and provide connectivity, safety and so on would be provided. Typically, though, it takes time to assess the damage and scale up the response. The initial response was a €350,000 allocation, mainly to assess the nature and design of the works.

The Deputy is right, in that Cork County Council initially estimated a cost of in or around €51 million, but there was no proper estimate involved in that. It was just a first assessment. The council has subsequently lowered that amount. We have committed €13 million this year, but it is likely that there will be further funding. Some of this takes time and may run into the following year, with us having to spend the money then. There will not be a need to go to the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. We can cover it from within the existing budget allocation.

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