§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made towards repair of the damage to river banks, woods, and bridges516W caused by the floods of October 1987; what sums have been expended to the latest available date; what he expects the final cost of repairs to be.
§ 30 Mr. ViggersThe Department of Agriculture has undertaken an extensive maintenance programme to repair river banks damaged by the flooding on 21 and 22 October 1987. Floodbanks breached on the Rivers Roe, Mourne, Strule and Faughan have now been repaired. In addition, measures have been taken to arrest erosion adjacent to floodbanks, particularly on the Moyola river. A programme to strengthen floodbanks on the River Roe is in progress. Repairs to river banks on the Rivers Blackwater and Tynan have also been carried out. Tree planting to replace trees carried away by the flood has been and will continue to be done.
To date expenditure on this work amounts to some £370,000. It is estimated that a further £40,000 will be required to complete the river bank repairs.
The majority of damaged bridges have been repaired by the Department of the Environment roads service at a cost of £403,000. Work is either already underway or planned to start soon on the remainder. The final cost of repairs is estimated to be £800,000.