Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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1167. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if grants are available to help repair and aid the maintenance of coastal slipways; if not, his plans for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34975/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The repair and maintenance of coastal slipways falls under the remit of each individual Local Authority in the first instance and their parent Department, the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government thereafter.

My Department administers an annual Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme which includes the provision of limited funding to assist coastal Local Authorities in carrying out small scale projects for the development and repair of Local Authority-owned slipways, harbours and piers. Factors taken into consideration when determining the allocation of this funding include overall national priorities, available Exchequer funding, and prioritisation as identified by the Local Authority in question.

I am pleased to confirm that I have allocated over €3.8m to the Local Authority Programme in 2017, with 67 projects approved for funding. Should any applications be received for the repair and maintenance of coastal slipways under future programmes, they will be given due consideration under the terms and conditions of the programme.