Written Answers Nos. 75-94
75. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Taoiseach the number of young persons aged 18 to 24 years of age signing on the live register at each of the 25 Intreo offices in the Dublin city and county area, in tabular form. [44159/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Live Register series provides a monthly breakdown of the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Benefit, Jobseeker's Allowance and other registrants as registered with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.
The most recent Live Register figures available are for September 2017.
The following table shows the number of persons under 25 years of age on the Live Register in Dublin City and County Intreo Offices as provided to the CSO by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection .
It should be noted that the Live Register is not a definitive measure of unemployment as it includes part-time workers, and seasonal and casual workers entitled to Jobseeker's Benefit or Allowance.
Number of persons under 25 years of age on the Live Register in Dublin City and County Intreo offices, September 2017
|
Intreo Office |
Persons under 25 years |
|
Balbriggan |
301 |
|
Ballyfermot |
350 |
|
Ballymun |
384 |
|
Bishop Square |
449 |
|
Blanchardstown |
534 |
|
Clondalkin |
624 |
|
Coolock |
413 |
|
Cork Street |
488 |
|
Dún Laoghaire |
257 |
|
Finglas |
588 |
|
Kilbarrack |
283 |
|
Kings Inn Street (Parnell Street) |
278 |
|
Navan Road |
375 |
|
Nutgrove (Rathfarnham) |
162 |
|
Swords |
248 |
|
Tallaght |
1,065 |
|
Dublin City and County |
6,799 |
Source: CSO Live Register
76. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Taoiseach when the vacancies on the National Economic and Social Council will be filled. [44165/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI appoint members to the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) in accordance with the provisions of the National Economic and Social Development Office Act 2006. The legislation provides for nominations from five sectors - business and employer, ICTU, farming and agricultural, community and voluntary, and environmental. I also appoint up to 6 public servants and 8 independent members.
All appointments to the Council with the exception of a small number of independent members have been made. Arrangements to fill the remaining vacancies are being put in place, and will follow the process set out in the Guidelines on Appointments to State Boards.
The members of the Council are:
Business and Employer
Maeve McElwee, IBEC
Tom Parlon, CIF
Ian Talbot, Chambers Ireland
ICTU
Patricia King, ICTU
Tom Geraghty, PSEU
Shay Cody, IMPACT
Farming and Agricultural*
Damien McDonald, IFA
John Enright, ICMSA
TJ Flanagan, ICOS
Community and Voluntary
Sean Healy, Social Justice Ireland
Brid O’Brien, INOU
James Doorley, NYCI
Environmental
Kate Ruddock, Friends of the Earth
Oonagh Duggan, Birdwatch Ireland
Michael Ewing, Irish Environmental Network
Public Servants
Martin Fraser, Secretary General, D/Taoiseach (Chair)
Elizabeth Canavan, Assistant Secretary General, D/Taoiseach (Deputy Chair)
Derek Moran, Secretary General, D/Finance
Robert Watt, Secretary General, D/Public Expenditure and Reform
Orlaigh Quinn, Secretary General, D/Business, Enterprise and Innovation
John McCarthy, Secretary General, D/Housing, Planning and Local Government
Independent Experts
Edgar Morgenroth, ESRI
Michelle Norris, UCD
Philip Hamell, Department of the Taoiseach.
*nominations were received this month and the appointment process is underway.
77. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the new budget allocation of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement for 2018. [44108/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe distribution of the 2018 allocations across my Department's Vote, including that of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, will be determined through the 2018 Revised Estimates Volume (REV) process which will be conducted in the weeks ahead.
It is expected that finalisation and publication of the 2018 REV allocations will be made by my colleague, the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform in early December 2018.
78. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of businesses estimated to avail of the new €300 million Brexit loan scheme; the average size of loans envisaged; when the scheme will come into operation; the length of time the scheme will operate for; and if she will provide detailed information on the proposal. [44109/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Brexit Loan Scheme will provide affordable working capital financing to Irish businesses that are either currently impacted by Brexit, or will be in the future. The new Scheme will be delivered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) through commercial lenders to get much needed working capital into Irish businesses.
The minimum loan size will be €25,000. The maximum loan size is still under review, but it will be in excess of €1 million. Given this variance in potential loan size, an average loan size and the number of businesses availing of those loans is difficult to forecast.
Further details of the scheme will be provided over the coming weeks. SBCI will issue an open call inviting lending institutions to participate before the end of October. The scheme is expected to be in place early in the new year. It is anticipated that the scheme will remain open until 2020.
79. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the 2017 and 2018 budget allocations for all offices and agencies under her Department’s aegis, in tabular form. [44110/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe distribution of exchequer funding allocations as per the 2017 Revised Estimates Volume for each Office and Agency under the aegis of my Department and as provided through my Department’s Vote is set out in the table.
The distribution of the 2018 allocations will be determined though the 2018 Revised Estimates Volume (REV) process which will be conducted in the weeks ahead. It is expected that finalisation and publication of the 2018 REV allocations will be made in December 2017.
|
2017 Revised Estimates Volume Allocations |
|
|
(i) Offices of the Department |
|
|
Companies Registration Office (including the Registry of Friendly Societies) |
€7.488m |
|
Employment Appeals Tribunal |
€1.709m |
|
Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement |
€4.895m |
|
Labour Court |
€3.648m |
|
Patents Office |
€2.841m |
|
Workplace Relations Commission |
€13.379m |
|
(ii) Enterprise Agencies |
|
|
Intertrade Ireland |
€7.960m |
|
IDA Ireland |
€179.264m |
|
National Standards Authority of Ireland |
€5.802m |
|
Enterprise Ireland |
€269.502m |
|
Science Foundation Ireland |
€172.631m |
|
Health And Safety Authority |
€18.112m |
|
Competition and Consumer Protection Commission |
€12.138m |
|
Personal Injuries Assessment Board |
€0.228m |
|
Low Pay Commission |
€477k |
|
Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority |
€2.105m |
The Deputy should note that the funding provision to Enterprise Ireland covers two subheads on my Department’s Vote, Subheads A7 and B4, which span general supports to indigenous firms and for research and development/innovation supports. The table shows the combined allocations of the two subheads.
The table above does not capture other Exchequer funding being provided to Enterprise Ireland in 2017 from the Votes of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Communication, Climate Action and Environment.
Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland are also provided with funding from the National Training Fund (NTF).
The operations of a number of the enterprise agencies are also supported through the generation, retention and use of Agency Own Resource Income, which is subject to annual sanction by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The Agencies concerned are Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, National Standards Authority of Ireland and the Health and Safety Authority.
The operations of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) is essentially self-financing from the fee generation received from personal injury claims, typically in the region of €12 million per annum. The exchequer provision as outlined in the table above covers pensions requirements.
The operations of the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission are part-funded through fees levied on certain regulated entities.
The funding provision to Inter-Trade Ireland is provided on a North-South basis and annual allocations are finalised in conjunction with the Northern Administration.
The Department also provides funding annually to the 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) through Subhead A8 of my Department’s Vote. Working closely through the Local Authority system, the LEOs support the micro-enterprise sector in the start-up and expansion phases and stimulate enterprise potential at local level. The 2017 allocation to the LEOs through my Department’s Vote totals €32.93 million broken down between €22.5 million in Capital and €10.431 million in Non-Pay monies. The LEOs are also supported through funding provided via the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government Vote.
Responsibility relating to the Low Pay Commission transferred to my colleague, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection in September 2017.
80. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of additional staff that will be allocated to the Health and Safety Authority in 2018; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44111/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection I welcomed record funding in Budget 2018 totaling €871 million for this Department. This included an increase of €400,000 for 2018 in the Health and Safety Authority's pay allocation which will enable it prepare to meet the challenges its regulatory functions will face post Brexit.
To date in 2017, the Authority has received sanction for 11 posts and is currently in the process of filling these.
This Department will work with the Authority to determine where these additional new posts can best be targeted.
81. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the State boards under the aegis of her Department which are subject to the provisions of the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44166/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe following agencies under the aegis of my Department are required to implement the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies:
- Enterprise Ireland;
- National Standards Authority of Ireland;
- The Personal Injuries Assessment Board;
- Health and Safety Authority;
- IDA Ireland;
- Science Foundation Ireland;
- Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC)must implement the code of practice although some of its compliance requirements are not applicable to the CCPC due to its corporate structure.
Microfinance Ireland is established as a company under the Microenterprise Loan Fund Act 2012 and is not an Agency of the Department in the traditional sense. Issues of corporate governance between it and DJEI are covered in a Service Level Agreement, dated 3 March 2017.
82. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the funding provided by her Department to the European Consumer Centre, Dublin, in each of the years 2013 to 2016 and to date in 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44167/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra83. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the persons appointed by her Department to the board of the European Consumer Centre, Dublin; the number of male and female board members; the date of first appointment of each board member; the number of terms served by each board member; when the term of office of each current board member will expire, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44168/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra84. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if appointments to the board of the European Consumer Centre, Dublin, made since November 2014 have been made in line with Government guidelines on appointments to State boards, including public advertisement of vacancies on stateboards.ie; if appointments to the board of the ECC Dublin are made in line with section 4.5 of the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies on terms of appointment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44169/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 82 to 84, inclusive, together.
ECC Ireland is a company limited by guarantee without a share capital. It is a non-profit organisation and registered as a charity with the Charities Regulatory Authority.
Companies limited by guarantee (CLG) operate under Part 18 of the Companies Act 2014. Sections 1194-1198 of the Act apply in relation to the appointment of Directors to the Board. Appointments to the Board are a matter for ECC Ireland and I, as Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, have no direct function in relation to such appointments. Details of the current and former members of the Board of ECC Ireland are a matter of public record and can be accessed by contacting the Companies Registration Office (CRO).
A member of staff of my Department sits on the Board of ECC Ireland. He was appointed on 27 November 2013.
ECC Ireland is a member of the European Consumer Centre Network (ECC-Net) which provides consumers across Europe advice on their rights when shopping in another EU Member State. The European Consumer Centre Network (ECC-Net) is an EU-wide network co-funded by the European Commission and the Member States. National funding for ECC Ireland is channelled via the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) from the allocation received by CCPC from my Department each year. Details of the funding provided to ECC Ireland for the years 2013 – 2017 are set out in Table 1.
Since November 2015, ECC Ireland is designated under S.I. No. 500/2015 - European Union (Online Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes) Regulations 2015 as the ODR contact point in the State for the purposes of Article 7 of the Regulation (EU) No. 524/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on online dispute resolution for consumer disputes. ECC Ireland is funded directly by my Department for carrying out the ODR contact point function. Details of the funding provided for the years 2016 and 2017 are set out in Table 2.
Table 1: Funding provided to ECC Ireland by the CCPC
|
Year |
€ |
|
2013 |
214,840 |
|
2014 |
214,840 |
|
2015 |
214,840 |
|
2016 |
214,840 |
|
2017 – to date |
155,189 |
|
2017 (budget full year) |
214,840 |
Table 2: Funding provided to ECC Ireland for the ODR Contact Point function
|
2016 |
€45,000 |
|
2017 – to date |
€32,437 |
|
2017 (budget full year) |
€47,000 |
85. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the criteria required to apply for the €300 million Brexit loan scheme for SMEs announced in budget 2018; when details of the scheme will become available from the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44170/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Brexit Loan Scheme will provide affordable working capital financing to Irish businesses that are either currently impacted by Brexit, or will be in the future. The new Scheme will be delivered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) through commercial lenders to get much needed working capital into Irish businesses.
The criteria for the Brexit Loan Scheme are still being finalised. Broadly, the Scheme will be open to businesses of up to 499 employees that can demonstrate that they are exposed to the impact (or potential impact) of the Brexit vote. They must also use the loan to meet working capital or cash flow requirements.
Further details of the scheme will be provided over the coming weeks. SBCI will issue an open call inviting lending institutions to participate before the end of October. The scheme is expected to be in place early in the new year. It is anticipated that the scheme will remain open until 2020.
86. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Finance if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding the 6% stamp duty rate on farmland sales; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44197/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra89. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Finance his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44144/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 86 and 89 together.
In my Budget 2018 statement I announced an increase in the stamp duty rate for all non-residential property transactions, including agricultural land, from 2% to 6%. On the recommendation of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine I also extended consanguinity relief for another 3 years and provided that the stamp duty rate applying under that scheme will be fixed at 1%. Consanguinity relief is availed of in transferring farms to younger family members. It encourages the early transfer of farms to younger generations and is mostly relevant where the transferee does not qualify for an alternative relief such as the Young Trained Farmer stamp duty exemption.
Transitional arrangements for signed contracts would apply. These are likely to be the normal changes that apply in relation to stamp duty changes.
Details of these measures will be contained in the Finance Bill.
87. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Finance the detail of the dwelling house exemption in respect of capital acquisitions tax; if he will review the provisions of this relief in order that family members inheriting two houses as opposed to one house are not disadvantaged; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44106/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by Revenue that section 86 of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 provides an exemption from capital acquisitions tax on the inheritance or gift of a dwelling house in certain circumstances.
One of the qualifying conditions for the dwelling house exemption is that the beneficiary does not have an interest in another dwelling house when he or she claims the exemption. This restriction applies whether a beneficiary already had such an interest before the inheritance or inherits more than one house as part of the same inheritance. The restriction also applies whether a house is situated in Ireland or abroad and would include, for example, a holiday home. Where two dwelling houses are inherited at the same time, the beneficiary can qualify for the dwelling house exemption on one of the houses only where he or she disclaims the interest in the other house.
The reason for this restriction is that the exemption is designed to prevent hardship in cases where individuals are sharing a home and where one or more individuals are bequeathed the home in circumstances where they would otherwise have to sell the property in order to pay capital acquisitions tax and be left without a home. It is considered that this situation does not arise when a beneficiary owns other residential property or properties. On this basis I do not propose to change this condition of the relief.
88. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that due to the failure to alter PRSI bands in line with the minimum wage increase in budget 2018, persons on the minimum wage earning €18,000 per annum will pay over 45% of their expected rise back in tax; his plans to introduce changes to remedy same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44112/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing the recommendation of the Low Pay Commission, the national minimum wage will increase from €9.25 per hour to €9.55 per hour in 2018. For an individual working full-time on the minimum wage (i.e. 39 hours per week), this should result in an increase to gross income of €608 per annum. A single person on the current minimum wage, i.e. with annual employment income of €18,759, pays income tax, PRSI and USC of €883 per annum. At the increased minimum wage of €19,367, they will pay €1,108 in tax in 2018. This is an effective tax rate on gross earnings of just 5.72%.
The marginal tax rate on the additional gross income exceeds the rate that might be expected of 26% (being 20% income tax, 2% USC and 4% PRSI) due to the tapered PRSI tax credit. However, this is as a consequence of the exemption from PRSI which applies on lower incomes, and which is a factor in the very low effective tax rate which still applies on the increased gross income of a minimum wage worker.
Prior to Budget 2015, a significant step effect existed in employee PRSI. At that time, once an employee’s earnings exceeded €352 per week they became liable to 4% PRSI on all their income. This resulted in an immediate additional payroll deduction of €14.08, so an increase in gross pay of 1 cent could cause a fall in net income of €14.07. The employee’s net income did not recover to pre-PRSI levels until gross earnings exceeded €372 per week.
This step effect was addressed in Budget 2016 by the introduction of a PRSI credit at the entry-point to employee’s PRSI, which is tapered out as income increases. The credit commences at income of €352.01 per week, and tapers out at a rate of one-sixth of income in excess of this threshold. The credit fully tapers out as income reaches €424 per week. The taper mechanism addresses the step effect while confining the benefit of the credit to earnings within the taper range.
While the tapered withdrawal of the credit does result in a higher marginal rate of deduction on income within the taper band, this must be viewed in the context of the overall effective tax rate on the employee’s total gross income of just 5.72%. For comparison, a single person earning €35,000, around the average wage, will have an effective tax rate of 17.5% in 2018.
Notwithstanding this step effect, it should also be noted that Ireland’s PRSI rates are low by comparison to personal and employer social insurance rates in other jurisdictions.
90. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Finance the way in which the liabilities entered into by local authorities in respect of long-term leasing for houses with approved housing bodies is calculated; if these are included on the State balance sheet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44148/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs I have already explained in my written answer to parliamentary question 42703/17, the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme provides a means whereby properties can be built or bought by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) with the combined use of State and private funding, and leased by AHBs and Local Authorities from private providers, for the provision of social housing. This scheme is underpinned by a lease and other legal agreements. These provide that rental payments are made by the State over an agreed long-term time period, typically 20 years. In return, the housing unit is made available for social housing purposes.
Rental payments from Local Authorities to AHBs are classified as general government expenditure in accordance with the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) and are recognised annually as the service (i.e. the rental properties) are made available annually throughout the contract. The liability inherent in the original lease contract is not recognised upfront and it is not classified as debt.
91. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Finance his views on whether land which has been purchased for commercial agricultural use and which was never used to live on should affect a family's eligibility to qualify for first time buyers' relief on a primary principal residence they now wish to buy as their home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44187/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Help to Buy initiative is available to persons who have not previously owned, or part-owned, a dwelling. I am advised by Revenue that the ownership of purely agricultural land that does not include a dwelling would not preclude a person, who otherwise meets the qualifying criteria, from availing of the scheme.
Comprehensive details of the operation of the Help to Buy are available on Revenue’s website at www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-15/15-01-46.pdf
92. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Finance if the guaranteed income of €12,700 associated with drawing down a private pension early is remaining at the current rate or if it will be reverting to over €18,000; and if there will be changes to this as a result of the recent budget or as part of the Finance Bill. [44234/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by Revenue that an individual in a defined contribution pension savings arrangement has the option, on retirement, of putting the funds accumulated under the arrangement into an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF), subject to conditions.
Where such an individual is under the age of 75 at the time of exercising the option and does not meet the requirement of having a minimum guaranteed pension income for life of €12,700 per annum, he or she is required to set aside an amount of €63,500 (or the remainder of the pension fund if less than €63,500 after taking a retirement lump sum) by investing the amount in an Approved Minimum Retirement Fund (AMRF) or by the purchase of an annuity. The purpose of the AMRF is to ensure that an individual, without the minimum guaranteed pension income for life, has a capital nest egg to provide for the latter years of his or her retirement.
In Finance Act 2011, the minimum guaranteed pension income requirement of €12,700 and the set aside amount of €63,500 were respectively increased to a pension income based on 1.5 times the State Pension (Contributory), which amounted to €18,000 per annum, and a set aside amount of 10 times the annual State Pension (Contributory) rounded to the nearest €100, which amounted to €119,800 or the remainder of the pension fund if less than the increased amount.
Finance Act 2013 rescinded the 2011 changes on the grounds, among other reasons, that without an appropriate transition period the 2011 changes would have detrimentally affected the plans of many individuals preparing for retirement over the medium term. The original limits of €12,700 and €63,500 were re-introduced, with the intention, at the time, of examining the restoration of the higher 2011 limits at a later date. In a reply dated 25 June 2015 to Parliamentary Question 25553/15, my predecessor stated that the re-introduction of the higher limits was being examined in the context of the preparations for Finance Bill 2015. In the event, however, Finance Act 2015 did not restore those limits.
I have no plans at this stage to re-introduce the higher guaranteed lifetime pension income or set-aside limits which were initially introduced in Finance Act 2011.
93. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the paper "Equality Budgeting - Proposed Next Steps in Ireland" is the document he referred to in his budget 2018 speech when he spoke of the development of a policy document which was published on 13 October 2017; if this paper is Government policy; the timeframe for its implementation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44262/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe paper 'Equality Budgeting: Proposed Next Steps in Ireland' was published alongside Budget 2018. The paper is the policy document which provides an overview of the concept of equality budgeting, the progress made in integrating equality budgeting into expenditure management and the estimates process, and the proposed next steps for the introduction of equality budgeting in Ireland. The paper sets out the pilot approach that will be adopted for gender budgeting in the Budget 2018 budgetary cycle anchored in the performance budgeting framework. The next step in this process will be the publication of objectives and indicators for the pilot policy areas in the Revised Estimates Volume in December.
The paper follows the Programme for a Partnership Government commitment to develop the process of budget and policy proofing as a means of advancing equality, reducing poverty and strengthening economic and social rights. This is also a commitment that has been included in the National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020.
94. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44291/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraRefurbishment of flood defence embankments commenced at Gurrane on 27/07/17. The proposed works was extended further downstream on the Maine Estuary due to deterioration of the flood defence embankment over the last 12 months. Consequently this resulted in additional work on the project consuming substantially more subsoil material to construct this section of embankment than was anticipated which affected the overall maintenance programme.
Any localised weaknesses within the remaining reach of flood defence embankment will be strengthened prior to vacating the site for this year. A thorough inspection of the remaining flood defence embankments protecting the Gurrane Polder will be conducted which will inform the maintenance programme for 2018.
