John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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78. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason a plan was submitted by Mayo County Council for flood defence and relief works at Ballina, County Mayo; his views on making funding available to have works carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40506/14]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In 2010 Mayo County Council submitted an application for funding under the Office of Public Works (OPW) Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme for works to prevent water infiltration through the river walls on the left bank of the river in Ballina in the vicinity of Batchelor's Walk. The application was not approved as it is OPW's view that other factors may be contributing to flooding at this location. The identification of these factors is being addressed in the context of the ongoing Western Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Study to ensure that any mitigation measures that are proposed will deal effectively with the flood problem.

In the initial phase of the CFRAM Programme, referred to as the Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (PFRA),Ballina was identified as one of 300 Areas for Further Assessment (AFA's). Hazard mapping, indicating the river and coastal flood risk in Ballina, is at draft stage and is to be finalised shortly and a Public Consultation Day is scheduled for 11^thNovember 2014. This will give interested parties and individuals the opportunity to contribute their knowledge of flooding in Ballina to the Western CFRAM study team.

The next stage in the CFRAM process is an option assessment exercise to assess management options for any river and coastal flood risk in Ballina. The OPW estimates that this report will be completed by 2016. Further information is available on which also contains links to the individual CFRAM Study websites.

The Government Decision of 11 February, 2014 which made available funding for the repair of existing public infrastructure damaged by storms in the period of 13th December to 6th January 2014, allocated a sum of up to €4,205,000 for repair works in County Mayo based on estimates provided by Mayo County Council. T he Council submitted to the Office of Public Works a programme of works detailing how it proposes to spend the allocation of €4,205,000. The programme included an amount of €176,000 for repairs to parts of a flood defence wall on the right bank of the River Moy at Ballina. The programme of works was approved and it is a matter for the Council to prioritise and progress these works and to draw down the funding that was allocated. The Council has recently drawn down some of the funding available to it but has not yet applied to draw down funding in respect of works in Ballina.