Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)

On 24 January of this year, Storm Éowyn hit our shores and caused considerable devastation right across the country. If our incredible public servants, from gardaí and members of the Civil Defence to staff of the ESB and local authorities, had not been on the scene in the many affected counties to restore power and support people and communities at a very difficult time, things might have been very different. Local authorities, in particular, played a key role in putting money in place as quickly as possible to fund the restoration of key services. It was agreed by the Department and the Minister that the money would be returned to the local authorities. In my county, Tipperary, Councillor Declan Burgess, who was cathaoirleach at the time, showed great leadership along with the chief executive in ensuring funding of €650,000 from Tipperary County Council would be made available to quickly restore services to the people of the county. The problem we have is that, ten months later, or almost 11, Tipperary County Council has not received a penny of that back. It is my understanding that no local authority across the whole country has received any funding back after Storm Éowyn. The storm was a long time ago, almost a year. We have had other storms since and I do not want the affected areas to feel as if they will have to wait almost a year until their local authority receives funding.

Local authorities play a key role in being out first, front and centre, to support local communities, but they need to be supported by the Department and Minister. Could the Leader speak to the relevant Minister to find out when the local authorities are going to be paid? Are they going to be paid before the end of this year, or are they going to have to wait until 2026?