Estimated cost from damage following flooding set to reach €100m

The bill for the damage caused by the recent flooding crisis is set to reach €100 million, The Irish Times has learned.

The estimates provided by local authorities claim the cost of infrastructural damage and the clean-up is “significantly higher” than the €60 million predicted.

The figures come as Fianna Fáil claimed the budget for flood relief works in 2016 had been cut by 14 per cent.

Fianna Fáil spokesman for finance Michael McGrath said €52.6 million had been allocated this year, in comparison to €61.3 million in 2015. This, he said, was in addition to an underspend of €13 million last year.

“The Government has recently been going to great lengths to promise additional funding for future flood defences, but the reality is they are actually slashing the budget for flood relief works and have failed to invest millions of euro set aside for them in 2015,” he said.

Sufficient funding

Minister of State at the Office of Public Works

Simon Harris

said Fianna Fáil’s statement ignores a major fact which is the figure for 2015 includes some of the money that was allocated to local authorities for storm damage incurred at the end of 2013 and the start of 2014.

He insisted there would be “sufficient funding available to it to meet its requirements for flood relief in any year”.

Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly and Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe have been receiving responses from local authorities on the cost of damage caused by the recent series of storms.

Accurate figure

Government sources admit it is likely to be “significantly higher” than the €60 million previously indicated. It is expected the two Ministers will be in a position to provide Cabinet with an accurate figure next week.

Leitrim County Council has estimated its cost at €771,000, according to statistics presented to the local authority meetingby senior engineer Shay O'Connor. Some €477,000 of the cost arose in the period before Christmas Eve and €294,000 from after.