Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

First, the Government has acted on this issue and has acted quickly. In a flood situation, the first thing people need is immediate assistance, which is being provided through the Department of Social Protection. A sum of €15 million was provided by the Government this week to address people's immediate needs. Officials of the local authorities and the Department of Social Protection have been asked to go house to house and talk to people about their immediate needs. Some people cannot cook while others have had their living spaces destroyed and they need immediate help. The Department of Social Protection, together with the local authorities, have been asked to address that on an immediate basis, and that is why the €15 million was provided.

The second issue that must be addressed is the longer-term situation, particularly for homes that have been affected. In some cases, insurance issues may arise which will have to be addressed. The third issue is how to prevent the flooding from happening in the first place. That is where the investment in flood protection schemes comes into play. I have given details of the very significant sums of money that have been provided and the various schemes that are in preparation to prevent flooding or at least mitigate it.

Deputy McLellan also asked about an application for European Union assistance. There is a fund available but there is a very high threshold or bar for applications to it in terms of what will actually qualify for funding. That will form part of the consideration of the report that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government will bring to Cabinet next week. At the moment he is getting an assessment from all of the local authorities of the scale and cost of the damage. That will form part of the report that the Government will consider on Tuesday.

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