Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 February 2014
307. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in tabular form the total spending on flood defences on an annual basis from 2000-13; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7729/14]
View answer309. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to outline the total amount planned to be spent on flood defence in 2014, 2015 and 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7731/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 307 and 309 together.
The Office of Public Works (OPW) has expended €355 million on capital flood relief activities between 2000 and 2013 with €307 million being spent on flood defence works and €48 million on other flood relief programme areas of work such as the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme. Of the total spent on flood defence works, €282 million has been invested on Major Flood Relief Schemes and another €25 million on the Minor Flood Works & Coastal Protection Scheme that commenced in 2009, under which the OPW funds works undertaken by Local Authorities up to a maximum of €0.5 million per project. A detailed breakdown is set out in the following table.
|
Year |
Major Schemes |
Minor Works Scheme |
Other Work Programmes * |
Totals |
|
€m |
€m |
€m |
€m |
|
|
2000 |
5.3 |
N/A |
0 |
5.3 |
|
2001 |
10.8 |
N/A |
0 |
10.8 |
|
2002 |
17.62 |
N/A |
0 |
17.62 |
|
2003 |
20.18 |
N/A |
0.34 |
20.52 |
|
2004 |
14.77 |
N/A |
0.62 |
15.39 |
|
2005 |
13.3 |
N/A |
2.87 |
16.17 |
|
2006 |
11.68 |
N/A |
2.54 |
14.22 |
|
2007 |
18.79 |
N/A |
4.32 |
23.11 |
|
2008 |
21.41 |
N/A |
3.47 |
24.88 |
|
2009 |
30.43 |
1.86 |
4.17 |
36.46 |
|
2010 |
24.57 |
10.21 |
3.85 |
38.63 |
|
2011 |
26.53 |
5.72 |
2.65 |
34.9 |
|
2012 |
33.97 |
4.89 |
13.16 |
52.02 |
|
2013 |
32.76 |
2.48 |
9.67 |
44.91 |
|
Totals |
282.11 |
25.16 |
47.66 |
354.93 |
* This includes the CFRAM Prog., Flood Studies Update Prog., Coastal Protection, Flood Forecasting, Legislative Review, Research & Development and Public Flood Awareness Campaign.
Since the programme of investment on main urban flood defence schemes commenced in 1995 and with the introduction of the Minor Works Programme in 2009, benefits estimated at over €1 billion in terms of damage and loss avoided have been realised and flood protection has been provided to approximately 10,500 properties.
The Government has prioritised investment in Flood Risk Management by allocating some €225 million to the OPW over the period 2012 to 2016 as part of its Infrastructure and Capital Investment Framework which will mean an annual average allocation of €45 million per year in that period. This is a very substantial financial commitment in current difficult conditions and underlines the priority the Government attaches to this area.
OPW has currently seven major schemes at various stages of construction with another six schemes due to commence construction this year. In addition, another twenty schemes are at various stages of planning, many of which will be expected to move to construction in 2015-2016.
Since the Minor Works Scheme was introduced in 2009, over 430 projects have been approved for funding with the vast majority of these having now been implemented.
