Dáil debates
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Humanitarian Assistance
3:00 pm
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
I had an opportunity privately to visit a number of areas and families in the Dublin region who suffered from flooding. I am very grateful to the families who let me into their homes which were badly affected by the flooding and, as the Deputy said, in quite a few cases by repeat flooding in parts of Cabra, Tallaght and Donnycarney. Certainly families and individuals have suffered grievously from the floods.
The Deputy should understand that the responsibility of the Department of Social Protection is to provide the humanitarian assistance, which is immediate assistance, and then also to help with buying and replacing appliances such as fridges, freezers and so on.
The Deputy referred to cases where perhaps homes may need to be rebuilt or a family whose house was built on a flood plain may need to be relocated. Following the floods of 2009, with which the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will be very familiar, Galway was very affected as were areas all along the River Shannon basin. Numbers of families have been relocated. It is possible for families to get assistance with accommodation costs if they have to move out of their homes but this must be done on a means-tested basis because of the restricted resources of the Department in regard to accommodation, house replacement or significant rebuilding of structures. I have asked the Government-----
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