Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Sorry, I missed that. The scheme was approved by Government in November 2009 and a fund of €10 million was available. There is about €7 million spent. Unfortunately, we have had a good few flooding events. The scheme was activated to support households affected by the different storms. It was initially activated for Cork, then it was extended to Louth and Galway. As the Deputy is aware, I have increased the income limits up to €50,000 for a single person, €90,000 for a couple and €15,000 for every qualifying child. The good thing about it is that if you are over the limit, it does not mean you get nothing. For every €1,000 that you over the limit, you have to contribute 1% to the cost yourself. That is for homes that have no insurance. Initially, there is one stage. If you are left destitute and out of your house, you can get a small support of up to €1,500 to cover incidentals. That is not means-tested. We help everybody because we do not want to see people in that awful place. For the replacement of white goods, carpets and all of that, there is a second stage. For structural damage, it takes a bit longer. There are three different phases in the payments.

I was in Carlingford a few weeks ago, where a lot of houses had been damaged. My officials were with me that day. I was glad to see that they were very good and called to every house. They did the same in Cork. They called out to houses to see how they could help people. There was an elderly lady who was quite distressed, and they were able to write a cheque for her there and then to give her a bit of support. Her two daughters were abroad and living far away, and she was going to stay with a niece. She was in a very difficult place. I have to say that I was delighted with my departmental officials. They were wonderful. They help people and are very good at that.