Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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230. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has received a report from his officials on the damage to Reendonegan Lake, County Cork following the storms earlier in the year and the steps that the Office of Public Works will take to restore the lake; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19064/14]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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The Office of Public Works (OPW) has no statutory responsibility for the maintenance of Reendonegan Lake, Bantry, Co. Cork and I have not received a report from OPW officials on storm damage at this location.

The Government Decision of 11th February 2014 allocated total funding of up to €69.5m for repair of public infrastructure and facilities damaged by the severe weather events in the period 13th December 2013 to 6th January 2014 based on estimates of costs provided by Local Authorities to the Department of the Environment Community and Local Government (DoECLG). The allocation included up to €19.6m for repairs of existing coastal protection and flood defences, to be channelled through the Office of Public Works (OPW). Of the total of €19.6m, €1,057,000 is available to Cork County Council for repair of built coastal protection and flood defences.

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government wrote to Cork County Council notifying it of its allocations in respect of each category of infrastructure covered by the Decision and requesting that the Council submit a programme of works within these allocations. The Council recently submitted a programme of repairs of coastal protection and flood defence infrastructure and the OPW has written to the Council in this regard. The Council's programme did not include works to repair damage at Reendonegan Lake.

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government will shortly be reporting to Government in relation to repair costs arising from severe weather events in the period 27th January to 17th February, 2014 which will contain estimates from local authorities of the cost of repairing infrastructure damaged in that period. It is a matter for Cork County Council in the first instance to consider if the damage to Reendonegan Lake is appropriate for inclusion in its programme of works.