Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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36. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government while acknowledging the allocation of funding in 2014 for repairs necessitated by the storm damage caused in January 2014, if funding will be made available to local authorities for repairs necessitated following damage caused by storms in February 2014, which were particularly acute on offshore islands. [9076/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Government decided on 11 February 2014 to allocate funding of up to €69.5 million to local authorities in the areas worst affected by the first phase of severe weather in respect of the damage caused between 13 December 2013 and 6 January 2014. This was intended to support communities by restoring roads, coastal protection, amenities/facilities and other public infrastructure which had been damaged. It was agreed that the funding would be made available via the Votes of the appropriate Departments, namely, Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport; Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine; the Office of Public Works and my own Department. While my Department had an initial role in collating details and costs of damage in the immediate aftermath of the severe weather based on returns and estimates provided by local authorities, the other Departments and Offices listed above liaise directly with the local authorities on funding which falls under their remit.

In the case of funding requirements which fall under the remit of my Department, namely, tourism infrastructure funded by the local authorities, certain piers, harbours and other facilities in the charge of the local authorities, current costs totalling €4m and capital costs totalling €13.1m were estimated initially for the first phase of severe weather. For the second phase of severe weather, from 27 January to 17 February 2014, local authorities estimated current costs of €3.5m and €8.5m in capital costs. Local authorities have been informed that a degree of flexibility is available in prioritising projects between the two phases of severe weather within the sub-headings of their overall funding envelope. Some additional works beyond the original €7.5m initially estimated were identified under the current costs heading covering clean-up and necessary immediate repairs and by the end of 2014 €7.859m was disbursed by my Department. A further €5.994m has been paid by my Department in respect of capital costs in 2014.

Provision has been made in my Department’s Vote for a further €10m in respect of capital costs to be incurred by local authorities in 2015 on repair and remediation projects under the expenditure headings that fall under the remit of my Department as indicated above.