Councils yet to draw down most of €19m flood funds

Two-thirds of the Government’s €19m flood support funding pot specifically set aside to boost defenses in the wake of the worst storms in a century have yet to be drawn down by local authorities.

The slow-paced attempts to protect vulnerable communities after the January 2014 storms ravaged the country was revealed by officials tasked with overseeing the funding yesterday.

Speaking at the latest meeting of the cross-party Dáil public account committee, Office of Public Works chairwoman Clare McGrath said in the immediate aftermath of last year’s weather crisis – which saw the worst storms in 143 years – the Coalition set aside €69.5m to help those in need.

The emergency support and repair fund, €20m of which previous reports show remains unspent, included €19.6m for the repair of coastal protections and flood defences in badly hit areas such as Cork, Waterford, Galway and the Shannon region.

However, despite this money being made available for repairs, 13 months on just €7.7m has been drawn down by local authorities.

The OPW, which oversees the flood defences funding, admitted yesterday there has been a delay in spending the money after Labour TD for Galway West Derek Nolan suggested there has been a “dragging of feet on this”.

However, while accepting the concern is genuine, Ms McGrath told the PAC the delays are due to issues such as the need for technical investigations on proposed solutions, addressing environmental restrictions to carrying out planned works, and procurement matters.

In addition to the poor uptake of the flood defence funding, other ringfenced financial supports linked to last year’s storms have also failed to be fully used to date.

They include €4m of the €17.1m held by the Department of Environment for damage repairs and €4m of the €16.2m earmarked by the Department of Transport for road repairs.

However, almost all of the €7m held by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine to repair 111 damaged harbours and piers has been spent.

The delays mirror similar problems which occurred after the devastating November 2009 floods which ransacked Cork City.

In the years immediately after the incident – which saw Ireland’s second city swamped with flood water and facing tens of millions of euro in damage after a decision by the ESB to open its dam in nearby Inniscarra – those affected suffered long delays in receiving compensation and fraught rows with legal firms over compensation and future coverage.

Meanwhile, the OPW has also told the PAC it is finalising plans to produce a national flood map highlighting 300 locations and communities across the country that are in danger of suffering catastrophic problems in the years to come.

The document is expected to be completed this summer and will help prevent building in areas that may be vulnerable now or in the future.