Labour TD, Michael McNamara, has requested the Government issue a letter of comfort to Clare County Council to provide reassurance that funding will be available for necessary repairs following the disastrous storms.

Mr McNamara said: "The scale of destruction on the Clare coast and in the Shannon Estuary was underlined at yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council when members were told that the total estimate for repairs now stands at €36.8m.

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"The recent visits of Minister for Agriculture and Marine, Simon Coveney, and OPW Minister of State, Brian Hayes, were appreciated and I don’t for a moment doubt their commitment to provide assistance. I am in regular contact with both ministers as well as Minister Brendan Howlin about the urgent need to provide assistance to communities in Clare.

"Clare County Council has already spent €720,000 in temporary repairs and the need for further considerable expenditure is urgent. The Council have spent this money without receiving any letter from the Government stating that the local authority will be reimbursed. County Manager, Tom Coughlan, has pointed out that further spending without written authorisation raises the issue of good corporate governance. Clearly the Council is caught between a rock and a hard place."

(CD/MH)