I met with many local representative and local authority officials during my visit to Kerry on 6 and 7 of January, during which I inspected flood damaged caused by the storms. The Office of Public Works (OPW) engineering staff are liaising with Kerry County Council engineering staff on an ongoing basis in relation to the flooding issues arising from the events of the 3rd and 6th of January 2014 and again on the 1st of February 2014.
It is a matter for Kerry County Council in the first instance to investigate and address coastal protection issues generally in the county, including remedial works required on foot of damage from the recent storms.
The Office of Public Works wrote on 10th January, 2014 to City and County Managers in coastal areas indicating that it will accept applications under its Minor Flood Mitigation Works & Coastal Protection Scheme for funding to assist with repairs to built flood defences and coastal protection structures which have been damaged by the recent storms. This is a once-off measure to reinstate built coastal defences to their pre-storm condition. The specific application form for this entitled Coastal Storm Damage Flooding Questionnaire 2014 is again available on www.opw.ie under Flood Risk Management. The OPW will assess and respond to any applications received as quickly as possible. Any work for which funding is sought will be carried out by the Local Authorities.
It is also open to Local Authorities to carry out flood mitigation and coast protection works using their own resources.
