The Office of Public Works was taken by surprise yesterday when it emerged that the Irish Red Cross was already inviting applications for humanitarian aid arising from the recent floods before the Dáil had debated the issue.
The Minister of State in the Department of Finance, Mr Tom Parlon, will ask the Dáil today to agree a humanitarian aid package for the relief of flood victims.
A spokeswoman for the OPW said the Minister would not be submitting a figure to cover the damage at this stage. There were two distinct procedures involved in the handling of the flood relief package, she said.
The first required Mr Parlon to formally ask the Dáil for humanitarian aid. Once this was agreed, the Minister would then ask the Red Cross to become involved as an "independent assessor" of the flood damage. The final cost of the project to be presented before the Dáil would be based on the applications processed by the Red Cross.
The spokeswoman expressed surprise that the Red Cross was already inviting applications from flood victims, even before the Dáil had formally agreed on a humanitarian package.
A special website has been set up by the Red Cross. "This follows the appointment by the Government of the Irish Red Cross to distribute humanitarian aid to people who suffered severe hardship as a result of the recent floods," the site says. The web address is www.redcross.ie/irishfloods/index.html
Applicants for aid will need to prove hardship under one or more of the following headings: death, serious injury, homelessness, damage to home, loss of income or extreme hardship.
Flood victims are invited to use the website by printing an application form attached and returning it on completion to The Irish Red Cross Flood Relief Scheme, 16 Merrion Square, Dublin 2. The closing date for receipt of the forms is Friday, December 6th.
"Following the receipt of completed application forms, the Irish Red Cross will make arrangements for individual assessments and a preliminary report will be presented to the Government," says the website. The relief scheme may be contacted on freephone no 1800 92 34 24. Lines are open daily from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
The Red Cross hopes to distribute the aid within six to eight weeks after the closing date, depending on the volume of applications.