Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I commiserate with all the individuals and families affected by the very difficult weather conditions. I visited Counties Kerry and Cork on Thursday and Friday. Anyone looking at the rivers in the area will have understood the amount of rain that has fallen in a short period and the difficulty this has presented.

The Department of Social Protection closely monitors weather forecasts and activated its humanitarian assistance scheme some weeks ago. We also had episodes of flooding in Counties Clare and Waterford, where we had to render assistance to a small number of families. Since the weekend, in response to flooding in Tralee, County Kerry, we placed in temporary accommodation a number of families who are tenants of the local authority and had to leave their homes. We also issued humanitarian assistance to families and application forms for such assistance. As the days pass, we expect more families to make contact with our services. We are working closely with the local authorities and I commend all the services that have responded to the floods, including staff who have been working heroically in very difficult conditions to protect people, properties and businesses.

The community welfare service and humanitarian assistance scheme have been activated and the former is open and available for contact. If Deputies are aware of people who are in a difficult position and do not know about the service, I would be grateful if they could pass on the relevant information to enable these individuals to make contact with the community welfare service. Staff are assessing and meeting the demand for assistance by members of the public as needs arise and, where necessary, visiting the homes of persons affected. This is occurring in the Athlone area, where departmental officials are in constant contact with Westmeath County Council, and they will provide whatever supports are required in Athlone and all other counties.

We are also conscious that, as a number of previous speakers noted, people have mounted a watch to ascertain when runoff water flowing through the River Shannon and other rivers may flood homes.

The Department is experienced in providing emergency humanitarian assistance. I assure the House that this is not a bureaucratic or difficult process. We have dealt with very difficult circumstances, including in King John's Island, Limerick, where staff went from door to door and established emergency premises. We will do this again where required and remain as close as possible to those who have been affected by flooding.

The Department has an allocation of €10 million to expend on emergency assistance. It can therefore meet all the assistance requirements as they arise. The Department generally adopts a three-stage approach. The first stage involves providing emergency income support payments for food, clothing and personal items in the immediate aftermath of the event. A relatively small amount of financial assistance is generally provided, with payments ranging from €100 to €500 depending on family size. The second stage generally involves the replacement of white goods, basic furniture items and other essential household items. It is not until flood water recedes somewhat that the Department is able to establish the full extent of damage to homes and what level of intervention will be required to address it. Deputies with experience of flooding will know what I am talking about. The final stage is to identify what longer-term financial support or works are required. It could take several months before this stage commences because flooded homes must first dry out and expert advice and assistance may be required.

Deputy Calleary referred to a case in which a bridge may have to be replaced, which is a matter for structural engineers and other experts. This is also the case with houses, and we have dealt with similar cases in conjunction with the Office of Public Works and local authorities. No limit is applied to the level of assistance provided under the scheme, which will depend on the needs of the individual household.

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