Ms Helen Faughnan:

We examine each case individually. If it is an emergency and the Senator needs to keep pumps going but does not have the disposable income available to him to do so, we will meet the costs involved. We have met such costs throughout the country in various instances, particularly of practical items such as dehumidifiers, but each case is decided on its merits.

Deputy Jim Daly spoke about bureaucracy. Under the scheme, we require basic information. We need to verify who the person is and that he or she is living at household X that has been flooded but with the information we are receiving from the local authorities and the local knowledge of community welfare service staff, that is a straightforward matter. If it is a family home, we are replacing elements related to it. If it is a separate unit providing bed and breakfast accommodation, it may be a business, etc. If members of the committee are concerned about particular cases, I ask them to bring them to our attention in order that we can examine each of them.

Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell should know that the sum of €235,000 is for the initial 270 households. We have not received complaints to date. On the feedback we are getting from members of the public, they are very pleased with the reassurance being provided by the staff. As Deputy Noel Harrington said, the staff are proactive and calling to families. We have set up emergency clinics. Some people are not yet in a position to know what they need, but our staff are calling back to check in with them to see how they are doing. We have quite a number of years of experience of dealing with the effects of flooding and our staff, particularly Ms Susan Kelleher, experienced the flooding in 2009. Many families were referred to counsellors via the Health Service Executive because of the trauma of watching their home that could have been in the family for generations being destroyed. We are working with the HSE and the authorities to try to meet people's needs as they arise. In 2014, for example, €1.2 million was provided under the scheme for 480 households and the payments differed, depending on need. In terms of the division of that sum, it works out at about €2,500, on average, but it could have been €10,000 for one family or €20,000 for another, depending on what had been destroyed and their capacity to meet their needs.

I want to get the message across that the €70,000 is not a cap. The members of the committee should please ask anyone they come across in their work as public representatives to apply and come to talk to us and not to assume they will not receive benefits. Our supplementary welfare allowance scheme is there to assist people as their needs arise, including somebody who is self-employed and has not been in a position to work.