Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)

As I said, €81 million in investment has been given to Kerry County Council. The Deputy talked about coastal protection. Since 2009, €4.2 million has been given to the minor flood mitigation and coastal protection scheme. This also includes €2.9 million for coastal erosion work. My Department is very much working with the local authority, particularly in Kerry. We know too well the issues people are facing right around the country, not just down in Kerry. I will visit Kerry in the not-too-distant future to look at the situation and talk to people. When I was last in government I worked very closely with the local authority in Kerry and we delivered a number of projects. I look forward to looking at those and also the areas Deputy Cahill raised today. The Minister outlined major infrastructure problem areas and the backlog in delivering major schemes. I am looking at this in my Department to see if we can streamline how we deliver schemes in terms of the planning process. As I said earlier, 11 years to deliver a scheme is too long. There are constraints that we need to comply with and deliver on. I will work closely with the Deputy.

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