Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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417. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will make emergency funding available to repair/strengthen the embankment at Lower Bridge Street, Killorglin, County Kerry as homes, properties and businesses in the area are continuously at risk to flooding; if he will take into consideration that the next high tides are forecast for the end of March; and if he will come to the assistance of this community, as they cannot any longer afford the cost of protecting their homes, properties and businesses from tidal flooding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12989/14]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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The River Laune is not a designated channel under an Office of Public Works (OPW) arterial drainage scheme and therefore the OPW is not responsible for its maintenance. The channel is in a Drainage District and its maintenance is the responsibility of Kerry County Council.

The embankment in question, at Lower Bridge Street, is a former Land Commission embankment. As I outlined to the Deputy in my reply to his Parliamentary Question No. 8642 of 20 February this year, the OPW has no legal responsibility for the maintenance of former Land Commission embankments. The only exception to this is when a former Land Commission embankment is incorporated into an OPW flood relief scheme.

The Government decided on 11 February 2014 to make available up to €69.5 million for a programme of repair and remediation works to roads, coastal protection and flood defence and other public infrastructure damaged in the storms from 13th December 2013 to 6th January 2014 based on estimates provided by the local authorities concerned. Of the total amount being made available, up to €19.6 million is available via the Office of Public Works for the repair of damaged coastal protection and flood defence infrastructure.

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has written to Kerry County Council, indicating, based on the estimate submitted by the Council to that Department, that up to €1,226,920 is being made available to the Council via the OPW to undertake the necessary repair works to damaged coastal protection and flood defence infrastructure.

Kerry County Council must submit an overall programme of works to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government detailing how it proposes to spend the total allocation that is being made available to it. It must also submit the relevant elements of the programme to each Department from whom funding will be made available for consideration of technical aspects of the proposed works. When Kerry County Council's programme of coastal protection and flood defence projects is received by the OPW it will be reviewed having regard to related guidance issued by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to the local authorities. The OPW has written to the local authorities indicating that in order to assist them in a practical way and to avoid any potential cash-flow issues, it will consider requests for advance funding of up to 80% of the estimated cost of approved projects where a contract for works has been made.