STORMS AND BAD weather devastated parts of the coastline in Co Clare earlier this month, damaging homes, businesses, roads and other essential structures.

The past few weeks have seen Clare County Council and local communities working on the clean-up, and now the council has been told how much money it is to receive from the Department of the Environment to help with the repairs.

It will be given €16,205,637 to undertake repair works to its infrastructure damaged during the recent severe weather.

The playground at the promenade in Lahinch on 1 February. Pic: Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland

In early February, the council submitted a report to government updating an earlier report on storm damage in December and January. It estimated that €36.8m was needed for repairs.

Atlantic coastline

This funding comes following submissions made to government by Clare County Council where it gave details of the damage along Clare’s Atlantic coastline and at some locations along the Shannon Estuary.

The money will be used to undertake repair works to roads, piers and harbours, coastal protection repairs, tourism infrastructure and other facilities under the charge of Clare County Council.

The Department of Environment also made a once-off allocation of €608,878 to the local authority to recoup the costs of storms in January.

Positive

The promenade at Lahinch. Pic: Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland

Mayor of Clare Cllr Joe Arkins said this is a “very positive announcement”.

He said the money:

will help to alleviate the fears of many people who have expressed concern over what effect the storm damage would have on their communities and tourism infrastructure.

Clare County Manager Tom Coughlan noted that the council has already invested a “considerable amount of its own resources” in undertaking interim remedial works.

He said that they hope that further funding will be given “but the level of this allocation enables very significant works to be progressed”.

The local authority said it hopes to progress the repair works as quickly as possible.

The new combined funding of €16,814,515 is in addition to the €6m already allocated by Government for a new harbour development, including a pier and flood defence works, at Doolin in Co Clare.

Read: Cost of storms to Co Clare : €36.8 million>