The Department of Social and Family Affairs has paid €125,000 in so-called urgent needs payments to victims of flooding in counties Cork, Clare, Galway and Tipperary, it confirmed today.
Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin today published information on the Government’s humanitarian assistance scheme for those affected by the flooding.
She said 400 payments had already been made through the scheme, which covers emergency income support payments to those in need.
It also covers damage to a person’s home and its “basic essential contents”, including carpets, flooring, furniture, household appliances and bedding. Structural damage may also be considered.
The Department said costs of medical treatment and supplies may also be considered in determining assistance where those affected do not already have either a medical card or private health insurance.
Loss or damage covered by an insurance policy and commercial or business losses are not covered by the scheme. Damage to private rented accommodation or local authority accommodation is not covered.
Ms Hanafin said the scheme was intended to provide financial assistance to eligible households who have suffered major flood damage to their homes.
“It is particularly intended to assist those households who are not in a position to meet costs for essential needs in the period immediately following the flooding.”
She said in order to ensure that assistance is targeted at those most in need, applications will be initially assessed and prioritised on the basis of a means test. “The basic principle of the means test will be to determine the household’s capacity to meet the costs of restoring their home to a habitable condition.
“All household income will be considered when determining entitlement to a payment, however account will be taken of outgoings such as rent or mortgage payment, loans and travel to work costs.”
The level of payment to individual households will depend on the severity of the damage experienced “relative to the household’s ability to meet these costs”, the Minister said.
She said that while this scheme is not intended to provide full compensation for all losses and damage it would “go towards alleviating the hardship which many hundreds of families have had to endure”.
“I know that the Community Welfare Service staff throughout the country have been providing huge support to families every day since this flooding occurred.”
The Labour Party last week asked the Government to vary the scheme so that those dealing with the trauma of having their homes flooded would not have to be means tested.
Under the rules of the scheme, payments made for urgent needs may have to be paid back later if there is an insurance claim, for example.
Application forms are available on the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the Community Welfare Service websites.