Written answers

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

Flood Relief Schemes Funding

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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207. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason €45 million in promised Government funding for flood and storm prevention works remains unspent six months since the last of winter storms; if he will provide the Government's plans for the spend of the remaining €45 million; if he will consider diverting some of this €45 million to other worthy projects that have not received an allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35957/14]

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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208. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is satisfied with the Government's efforts to fulfil the EU Directive on the assessment and management of flood risks; if he will provide an update on the progress made in this area. [35963/14]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 207 and 208 together.

On 11 February 2014 the Government decided to allocate total funding of €69.5 million for repair of public infrastructure damaged by storms in the period 13 December, 2013 to 6 January, 2014. Of this total amount, the OPW is responsible only for the approval of programmes of works and the disbursement to local authorities of the funding of up to €19.6 million for repair of damage to public coastal protection infrastructure. The Departments of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Transport, Tourism and Sport and Agriculture, Food and the Marine are responsible for the approval of programmes of work and the disbursement of funding for repair of other damaged public infrastructure such as roads, piers, harbours and other community facilities and amenities.

With regard to the funding of €19.6 million that is available from the OPW, the local authorities have indicated that works are in hand at many of the locations involved and that a substantial proportion of the expenditure incurred will be drawn down by them before the end of this year.

In relation to your question on the Government's efforts to fulfil the EU Directive on the assessment and management of flood risk, the implementation of the EU Directive is being undertaken through the national Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme. Good progress is being made on the six regional CFRAM Studies under the national Programme. The Programme is being undertaken by the OPW to meet national flood policy needs in addition to meeting the requirements of the EU Floods Directive. It involves a comprehensive flood risk assessment focused on 300 areas of potentially significant flood risk and the development of long-term, sustainable flood risk management plans.

The purpose of the CFRAM Programme is to:

- assess and map the existing and potential significant flood hazard and risk within the study areas,

- build the strategic information base necessary for making informed decisions in relation to managing flood risk,

- identify viable structural and non-structural measures and options for managing the flood risks for localised high-risk areas and within each river catchment as a whole.

There are three main stages in the Programme; each involving public consultation:

- Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment - complete

- Flood Hazard Mapping (2013 - 2014)

- Catchment Flood Risk Management Plans (2015)

The CFRAM Programme will be used to determine national priorities for State investment in flood defences, on a systematic and objective basis, using Multi-Criteria Analysis. More information on the Programme is available on www.cfram.ie.

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