Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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254. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount of funds that will be allocated this year for the continuing programme of storm damage remediation and prevention work in 2015; the amount of this that relates to work sanctioned in 2014 but not completed; if he will provide details of these projects; when details of the projects to be approved in 2015 will be announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6033/15]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Government Decision of 11 February 2014 allocated total funding of up to €69.5 million for clean-up, repair and restoration works in relation to public infrastructure that was damaged in the period 13 December 2013 to 6 January 2014. Of this sum of €69.5 million, up to €19.6 million was allocated for repair of existing coastal protection and flood defences based on submissions and cost estimates made by the local authorities concerned to the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government(DoECLG). This funding for repair of damaged coastal protection and flood defence infrastructure is being made available to the local authorities via the Office of Public Works (OPW) based on programmes of works submitted by the local authorities. 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, and would be in a position to provide information to the Deputy in that regard.

Based on the programmes of works of repairs to coastal protection and flood defence infrastructure that were submitted by local authorities, total funding of €19.070 million was approved by the OPW for 176 projects that were deemed to be within the scope of the works covered by the Government Decision. The prioritisation and progression of projects is entirely a matter for the local authorities concerned.

To the end of 2014, OPW paid local authorities a total €7.675m of the total allocation based on draw down claims submitted by the local authorities for funding in respect of projects that have been completed, are under construction, or where contracts for the works have been placed. A substantial part of the approved funding was not drawn down in 2014 due to a variety of factors. The local authorities are continuing to progress with works and further draw down requests are expected to be submitted and processed in 2015. Provision has been included in the OPW's 2015 Vote to allow local authorities to draw down the unexpended balance of funding this year. The remaining total funding available for draw down by local authorities in 2015 is €11.395m for projects approved for funding by the OPW in 2014 but for which no funding or partial funding has been drawn down to date by local authorities. As all programmes of works were approved for funding in 2014 there is no requirement for a further approval process in 2015.

Details of projects approved by OPW in 2014