Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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56. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount of money allocated in 2013 and in 2014 to Mayo County Council for the purposes of coastal defences and addressing coastal erosion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6294/15]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Mayo County Council did not apply to the Office of Public Works (OPW) in 2013 for any funding for the purposes of coastal defences and addressing coastal erosion.

With regard to 2014, the Government Decision of 11 February 2014 that allocated funding for repair of public infrastructure that was damaged in the period 13 December 2013 to 6 January 2014 included a sum of up to €19.6m for repair of existing coastal protection and flood defences, which is being made available via the OPW. Of this sum of €19.6m, up to €4,205,000 was allocated to Mayo County Council, based on a submission made by the Council to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and a subsequent Programme of works approved by the OPW.

In 2014, the Council drew down from the OPW a total of €2,076,309 of the sum of up to €4,205,000 allocated to it by the Government Decision for repair of existing coastal protection and flood defences. The Council is 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 the Council to draw down the balance of its funding this year.