Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the officials who have come in to make a presentation and acknowledge the work many of the agencies have done over the past six to eight weeks. I acknowledge the work of those in the Defence Forces, local authorities, the Red Cross and volunteers in a range of areas with different issues and problems. When the humanitarian scheme was announced and being administered, even staff in the Department were proactive in some areas and knocked on doors to assess whether affected householders qualified for the scheme.

I share the concerns of Deputy Daly and others in regard to the cap and the gross household income qualifying limits. I accept the allocation is on a reduced scale based on that, but in the broad scheme of things, over the past number of years the income of a couple in a double income household has been hit for everything. These people pay for everything and qualify for very little. They do not qualify for medical assistance and often do not even qualify for university grants for their children or anything else. Deputy Daly has outlined the horror associated with any emergency or disaster, such as a flood, that befalls them. Although the scheme allows for an income limit of €70,000, the community welfare officers are good at using their discretion in terms of what is appropriate. I believe greater discretionary powers would be appropriate. The Department has approved 270 payments to households involved, but how many applied for assistance?