The Minister of State for Finance, Mr Tom Parlon, has indicated that households hit by flooding last week in Leinster and Munster can expect to receive State compensation of about €10,000 each.
Mr Parlon has asked the Government to approve a humanitarian package in line with previous schemes introduced in the wake of a landslide at Pollathomas, Co Mayo, and floods in Dublin in 2002.
He said the scheme was likely to be administered by the Red Cross, despite the recommendation by the Government's own review group which said that such schemes should be managed by the Department of Social and Family Affairs.
"I think at this stage in terms of humanitarian aid it's something that has to be dealt with very, very quickly. We have none of that work done in terms of putting that in place," Mr Parlon said. "I expect that there will be big pressure on to get some aid out immediately. Christmas is only six or seven weeks down the road."
Mr Parlon said average awards in previous schemes managed by the Red Cross was €10,000, suggesting the new initiative would cost at least €3.5 million.
"The Red Cross precedent is very important. If that's what they decided previously I can't imagine it will be too much different this time," he said.
Mr Parlon accepted "some individuals will attempt to pull the wool over people's eyes" but believed there would be only a "quite minor" incidence of false claims.
Each claim would be assessed individually, he said. "I'd have the height of trust in the Red Cross to do it in the most efficient and humane way possible."
The Minister of State said local authorities had indicated to the Office of Public Works (OPW) that 300 to 350 households had sought emergency assistance after floods hit towns such as Arklow, Clonmel and Wexford.
The Cabinet will consider an OPW memorandum on the flooding at its meeting today. Mr Parlon said the Government will be asked in the memorandum to make a "decision in principle" to proceed with a scheme.
He believed any award of aid would be in line with a similar package after floods in 2002 and a landslide in Pollathomas, Co Mayo, when the average award was €10,000.
In addition, he said the cost of flood relief work in vulnerable towns had been estimated at €400 million over the next 10 years. He was examining whether a relief scheme in Clonmel could be brought forward.
Mr Parlon stressed that the figures on the demand for assistance after last week's flooding were preliminary.
He said he expected more claims to come in.
