I should like to share my time with Deputy Carey.
Adjournment Debate. - Clare Coastal Erosion.
The House agrees to that.
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me the opportunity of raising this very serious and important matter in relation to damage to the Clare coastline as a result of the recent storms. I am particularly pleased that he has afforded me the opportunity here this evening because it is a matter of great concern in County Clare and something that needs corrective action immediately, as otherwise we will have a much more serious problem.
As a result of the storms the weekend before last, major havoc has been wreaked along the Clare coastline and the county is absolutely devastated. Fortunately, the Clare County Council engineer, Mr. Pat Gleeson and the assistant engineer, Mr. John Coyne, with the area engineers, very promptly put together a report and submitted it to the Department of the Environment which gives a preliminary detail of the damage done. The situation is so bad that you would really have to see what has happened there to believe how devastated the area is and the seriousness of the damage. Where the Shannon meets the sea at Rynvilla Bay, which is open to the south-west winds, there was particularly serious damage. About 200 metres of the sea wall and 700 metres of the road were damaged and the estimated cost of repairing them alone is £250,000. As you move back towards Kilbaha, which is near Loop Head, the sea wall has also been damaged and the estimated cost of repair is about £30,000. As you move around the tip of Loop Head, where the famous bridges of Ross are situated, thousands of seashore pebbles have been thrown on to the roadway which means that the road is totally cut off and the estimated cost of clearing it is roughly £5,000.
In the very important tourist resort of Kilkee — which is totally dependent on tourism — the damage is particularly serious for the economy of the town. The promenade has been seriously damaged and its wall has been broken and knocked in a number of places. The bathing shelters and toilets have all been knocked down and the very nice seating arrangement around the area has also been damaged. In addition, the road going back towards the cliffs and around the front of Kilkee has suffered badly. The foundations of the wall have been eroded and, if corrective action is not taken, within a short time the road will cave in and it will be impossible to pass.
Various damage has also been done to a walk of a mile along the west end. The path and the steps leading to beautiful scenic areas and rock formation are inaccessible because of the damage. This needs to be properly repaired before Easter because, otherwise there will be no tourist facilities for those who come here at that time, which will mean that the people of the town will lose their livelihood. When you move up the coast you come to Seafield and Quilty in which there has been more erosion of the public road which, it is estimated will cost about £100,000 to repair.
The initial estimate for repairs in Kilkee was about £150,000 but this would merely be a cosmetic exercise, the real estimate is nearer £250,000 because the degree of damage to the foundations is very extensive. The estimate for repairing damage to Seafield and Quilty is about £100,000. In the home territory of the President, the bridge and sea wall have been damaged in Spanish Point, stones and litter have fallen on the roads and a clean up job is needed, which is estimated to cost about £10,000; in Whitestrand and Miltown Malbay, there is also damage caused by stones on the road and the estimated cost of clearing and repairing the area is about £5,000.
In the very important holiday and golfing resort of Lahinch, the inner sea wall has been knocked for about 40 metres and the capping on the wall has been washed off. In addition, a great deal of rubble is causing problems. At the northern end of the promenade walk, major erosion has taken place at the fourth tee of the golf course. This is very serious because it affects the whole fabric of the tourism attraction in Lahinch. The estimated cost of repairs there is roughly £80,000.
Two miles north of that area, Clahanes and Liscannor face south westerly winds and there has been extensive damage in the area. For about 600 metres there has been coastal erosion along a protective wall and the estimated cost of repairs is roughly £250,000. In Liscannor harbour there is about 50 metres of coastal erosion and the estimated cost of repairing it is £30,000. Doolin has become a very popular resort, particularly for continentals, and many German, French and Dutch people have used it extensively in recent years. There have been major rock disturbance and coastal erosion there which it is estimated will cost £20,000 to repair.
When you go round Blackhead and into Galway Bay you come to Finnavarra which is near Kinvara but still in County Clare. The area has suffered more coastal erosion, and there is need for a major clean-up, and the estimated cost is £30,000. In addition, extensive damage has been caused throughout the county by falling trees and the cost to Clare County Council of clearing them is estimated at £18,000. Overall we are talking about a figure of £978,000 for remedial work and so on. The cost of the work at Kilkee was under-estimated and I understand that we should add a further £100,000 to that figure. Therefore, we are talking about a sum of £1,078,000. That is an indication of the amount of damage caused by the storm.
I should like to avail of this opportunity to compliment the county engineer, the assistant county engineer, and their staff, for preparing the preliminary report on the extent of the damage so efficiently and speedily. In asking the Minister to give serious consideration to the proposals I have outlined I must point out that it is imperative in the interests of the economy of north west Clare that restoration work is carried out immediately. If that is not done the economic fabric of the area will be in jeopardy and there will be little future for the people who live there. I appeal to the Minister to examine the proposals as a matter of urgency and allocate the necessary finance to Clare County Council.
I should like to ask the Chair how much time I have left.
I understand that the Deputy is anxious to accommodate her colleague and I should point out to her that the Minister of State has agreed to yield some of his time to the Deputies. The Deputy should divide the remainder of her time with her colleague and I will call the Minister of State at 5.23 p.m.
I appreciate the Minister's offer and I will yield to my colleague in a few moments. I accept that the Department of the Environment have financial problems but I suggest to the Minister that he should seek assistance from the European Community. I urge the Department to act quickly and secure the necessary funds to carry out remedial work. We are talking about a major disaster in that area. In my lifetime I have never seen a storm cause so much havoc to the coast of Clare. I would appreciate the support of the Minister in regard to this.
I should like to join with my colleague in appealing to the Minister to instruct his Department to deal with the problems that have arisen following the destruction by the storm last week. Deputy Taylor-Quinn has given details of the areas most affected by the storm. I accept that there is a lack of finance in the Department and that they will have great difficulty in raising the £1 million to carry out restoration work but I must point out that there is a precedent for such emergency assistance in that when Hurricane Charlie hit Dublin and the east coast the previous Government made money available to deal with the flooding along the banks of the Dodder and in Bray. Fianna Fáil, who were then in Opposition, supported the application by the Government to the EC for funds to help those who suffered loss during that storm.
The letter from the county manager and county engineer of Clare County Council details the extent of the damage caused by the storm. I am sure the Minister of State is aware of the popularity of the west Clare coastline with tourists and that many Members spend their holidays in that area. I hope the Minister can assure us that remedial work in Kilkee, Lahinch and Doolin will be carried out immediately. The Department should respond positively to our pleas and provide the necessary finance.
In the course of my contribution I omitted to ask for funds to carry out repair work at Farihy Bay, two and a half miles north of Kilkee. A lot of damage has been done to the sluice gate there with the result that 600 or 700 acres of land have been flooded with salt water. Needless to say that will damage the soil. The flooding is causing a lot of worry to local farmers.
Deputy Taylor-Quinn has made history in being the only Deputy ever to make two contributions on an Adjournment debate.
I was pleased to be able to co-operate with the Chair and Deputies Taylor-Quinn and Carey. Before responding to this evening's debate I would like to take this opportunity to put on record my appreciation of the excellent work which local authorities throughout the country did during the recent storm. It is clear that the authorities were alert to the impending storm and responded well in maintaining services and keeping roads open to traffic.
The information available in my Department about the damage caused during the storm is still somewhat sketchy and is based on information provided by the local authorities in advance of carrying out detailed assessments of the full extent of the damage and the cost of remedial work.
In the case of Clare County Council, a report on the storm damage has been received in the Department together with preliminary estimates of the cost of restoration work. A preliminary examination of the report would suggest the most significant problems relate to coast erosion and damage to sea walls and public buildings. Some damage was also done to the public road network but this appears to be a relatively small part of the overall problem.
While I recognise fully the difficulties which have arisen in Clare, and in other areas of the country, due to the storm, I have to say that primary responsibility for remedial works rests with the local authorities concerned. Any assistance that may be available from my Department can only come from existing sources of finance.
In the case of remedial work to sea walls and public buildings, it will be appreciated that there is no system of grant assistance available in my Department for this type of work. However, I am prepared, within the existing limits of my Department's Vote, to give sympathetic consideration to any applications submitted to the Department for treasurer loans to finance suitable remedial works.
In the case of damage to public roads, it is likely that a high proportion of any necessary remedial work would qualify for assistance from the funds already allocated for 1988 in respect of national road maintenance, county road strengthening and block grant. The grants notified to Clare County Council under these headings for 1988 total over £2 million. Any road repairs which do not qualify for grant aid will fall to be financed from the local authority's own resources.
I have listened carefully to the explanation of the position. I do not want to lecture anybody, but Deputies will understand that the Vote for my Department was approved in the Estimates last autumn. The Minister will have to live within that Estimate and there cannot be any overrun in expenditure. If there is to be any assistance for Clare or any other part of the country it will have to come from the overall financial package as put forward in the budget and the Estimates. When a full examination has been carried out by the county engineer and the county manager with the officials from my Department, we will see what can be done. Road repairs will have to be funded from local resources. I do not want to mislead anybody. I have always been truthful in the House and I want to be frank. I do not want to build up hopes.
It is road destruction we are talking about.
When we have a complete assessment we will see what further can be done. I cannot give any definite undertaking but I am sympathetically disposed. If the Department can be of help in easing the problem we will be only too glad to do so. Preliminary estimates suggest that damage to roads is in the region of £150,000. Other damage amounts to £850,000.
The damage to roads must come under the heading of total destruction caused by natural disaster. It is not a matter of carrying out the normal repairs as countenanced by Clare County Council. This damage is exceptional.
This could qualify under our road strengthening block grant. There could be room for manoeuvre by the county engineer in consultation with my officials. I would have no objection, provided we keep within the financial constraints.
What about EC aid?
I do not want to build up false hopes. My information is that we might not succeed. However, it can be considered.
In the Rynvilla area a road of 14 feet has been reduced to four feet in width. It has been virtually swept away. It is not a simple matter of repair. There are other areas where pebbles need to be replaced and there is a certain amount of damage. There must be some assistance available from the EC for such major disasters.
I am informed by the county engineer in Clare that the total road damage amounts to approximately £150,000. That covers the matter to which Deputy Taylor-Quinn refers. Some work will be carried out from local funds and the county engineer will be in touch with our officials on that matter. We will see what can be done in relation to EC aid.
The Dáil adjourned at 5.25 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 23 February 1988.