Mary Coughlan
Question:245 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for the Marine the amount of moneys allocated since 1987 to date to Donegal County Council for coastal erosion. [6148/95]
Written Answers. - Donegal Coastal Erosion.
Mary Coughlan
Question:246 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for the Marine if an allocation of money will be provided to the Holmes Beach, Donegal Town, to prevent further erosion of the coastline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6149/95]
I propose answering Questions Nos. 245 and 246 together.
Perhaps responsibility for coastal protection lies with the property owner, whether that be a local authority or a private individual. The role of the Department of the Marine is to work in conjunction with coastal local authorities on the overall management of the coastal zone.
Since 1990 when funding for coastal protection was transferred to the Department of the Marine from the Office of Public Works no grant-aid has been provided in respect of new protection works in County Donegal. No funding was provided by the Office of Public Works during the period 1987 to 1989.
During the late 1970's coast protection schemes were constructed by the Office of Public Works at Rossnowlagh and Moville. These schemes are maintained by the State and maintenance costs are recouped from Donegal County Council.
Under the Operational Programme for Environmental Services 1994 to 1999, some £5.1 million is being made available to help address the serious erosion problem around our coastline. This represents a major increase from the mere £100,000 per annum available for this purpose in recent years but it is small in relation to the scale of the problem. Given this limited level of funding the Department of the Marine will only be able to grant-aid local authorities to undertake the most urgent erosion protection projects, having regard to environmental, economic and ecological considerations. I will be seeking additional funding for coast protection purposes.
In order that the best mix of priority projects can be carried out over the next number of years, the Department have invited all maritime local authorities to submit for consideration full details of their top four priority protection projects, along with a cost-benefit analysis for each.
We are currently awaiting a reply from Donegal County Council and if they include Holmes Beach on their list it will be given full consideration by the Department.