Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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111. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the breakdown of the cost of the flood defence system installed in Clifden, County Galway, in 2014; if he will provide a copy of the Natura 2000 impact statement completed for the project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22719/20]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The Office of Public Works (OPW) has not undertaken any flood relief works in Clifden and has not provided any funding to Galway County Council for any minor works in the town under the OPW’s Minor flood Mitigation & Coastal Protection Scheme.

However, following the severe weather events which affected the Western seaboard in December, 2013, and January, 2014 the Government made a decision in February 2014 to make a separate funding stream available to Local Authorities for the repair to storm damaged public coastal defence infrastructure. As part of Galway County Council’s application to OPW for funding, an amount of €52,600 was approved for the Clifden area.

In the course of my recent visit to Clifden to talk to those impacted by the recent flooding, and view the damage first hand, I received confirmation from the Council that they will soon be tendering to engage Engineering Consultants to progress the development of the flood relief scheme for Clifden, as identified in the 2018 Flood Risk Management Plan for Erriff-Clew Bay-Blackson-Broadhaven areas, and that this week’s events will inform the scheme’s design.