Ms Helen Faughnan:

Deputy Jim Daly asked about people being refused. We have no record of refusals to date.

Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell inquired about the sum of €235,000 paid. It is a small sum, but we are still in an emergency. For those whose houses are flooded, we cannot pay them for fridges, cookers, etc. We expect that in the next couple of weeks the level of payments will ramp up substantially as people come to us for help. Currently, we are paying for emergency toiletries and food to help people to continue to meet their requirements.

Senator Gerard P. Craughwell mentioned the cost of running pumps. In many areas local authorities are providing fuel. Where this is not feasible or not happening for some reason, people are coming to us and we are paying for fuel and increased heating. Bord na Móna is delivering briquettes to ensure houses will continue to be heated. In some cases, if somebody has moved into replacement emergency accommodation that has not been occupied for a couple of weeks, fuel tanks are being topped up and the fuel is paid for through the humanitarian scheme.