Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The storms that ravaged the west have caused more than €19 million worth of damage to Galway city and county. The preliminary cost for Galway city is €1.282 million. The four main areas of coastline damage in the city are Silver Strand, Blackrock in Salthill to Birdoo, Blackrock to South Park Claddagh and Ballyloughane beach. A critical tourism amenity for Galway city is the proposed extension of the promenade in Salthill to Silver Strand beach. Thousands of people walk the promenade in Salthill on a daily basis. The estimated damage to the area between Silver Strand and Salthill promenade is €400,000, which includes measures for protecting against coastal erosion. Galwegians have been calling for years for the protection of this coastline and, in particular, the putting in place of protective buttressing at the Knocknagoneen drumlin which has undergone significant erosion. It is critical for tourism and the local economy that this funding is provided for the city's beaches and coastline.

The key priority for Galway city and county is that a two-stage coastal protection plan is put in place to deal with immediate and long-term coastal protection works. Galway County Council in its interim submission has estimated the costs to be €18.32 million. Many of the coastal areas require more rigorous investigation. As such, that cost could and will increase. The two causeways linking Leitir Mor and Gorumna to the mainland have been damaged. The access road to the graveyard in Ervallagh in Roundstone and a residential access route in Errislannan have been damaged. How will the OPW and the relevant Departments deal with damage to infrastructure which is not directly the responsibility of the local authority but is critical to the economic sustainability and well being of local communities, including damaged access routes to residential areas, beaches and burial grounds? There was significant damage to the defence wall on the Inis Meáin airstrip which is not in public ownership but is critical for tourism and access to the island. What is the position with regard to funding in that regard?

The OPW has contacted local councils requesting priority lists in regard to flood mitigation and coastal protection works. However, as already stated in the House earlier, the criteria in this regard is restrictive in that it allows only for repair of sea walls and defence walls that have been damaged. In Galway, there are numerous examples of damage in areas where there was no wall or protection in place, which means that work does not come within this category. An example is the roadway washed away in Errislannan near Clifden. There is need for a co-ordinated approach to ensure particular works do not fall between the cracks with regard to which Department is responsible for funding. Councils are concerned that significant works will not come under any particular category in terms of funding.

Significant damage has been caused to tourist infrastructure, facilities and amenities and will require immediate engineering repairs because these areas, such as the promenade in Spiddal, are now even more vulnerable to future storms. Analysis also needs to be fast-tracked to provide more extensive long term coastal defences. I believe that recent events are a wake up call of the need to immediately put in place effective and long term, sustainable coastal protections along our western seaboard and the island of Ireland as a whole.