Floods: Councils to receive €8m for clean-up

Environment Minister Alan Kelly is to provide councils with €8m to pay for the cost of the clean-up after Storm Desmond.

Claims of €6.2m have so far been received from local authorities, with the final cost likely to run to tens of millions.

Although the River Shannon has stopped rising for the first time in two weeks, authorities have warned that large areas are still under severe flood warnings. Water levels are slowly beginning to fall in many areas, but homes and businesses will have to continue pumping water in the days and weeks ahead. Ten local authorities in affected areas have submitted claims, Mr Kelly said.