Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Unfortunately, the reality is that there are still many families in total and absolute despair as they try to deal with the damage caused by the deluge. Many do not have insurance and are facing a huge burden as a result of additional costs. The families had the cost of renting or purchasing pumps during the peak of the storms. Electricity use increased as heat was kept on in flooded homes and additional fuel was required for pumps and boilers that were kept going around the clock. It was an unimaginable burden for many families. The water has done insidious damage to family homes. Carpets are destroyed and wooden floors and tiles have had to be thrown out and replaced. Families have faced increased heating bills as a result of their efforts to tackle damp. In many cases, septic tanks have overflowed. There is the additional burden, from a health and safety point of view, of making safe people's lawns and the areas surrounding their homes as a result of leakage and leaching of toxicity from septic tanks.

The Minister, Deputy Coveney, said the Government would be generous and fair with applications for assistance to help people deal with the damage, while all claims will be means tested. The Irish Red Cross managed the applications for assistance for small businesses which were not insured and I understand this has had a drawdown of approximately 75%. Families who suffered damage to their property and need assistance have had to apply to the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection's Department. This seems to be a far more detailed process and people are anxious that it is taking too long. My personal experience is that the community welfare officers are doing the best they can but families are saying the waiting times are extensive and the criteria set do not seem to match the costs incurred and the burden placed on them.

I have a number of simple questions for the Tánaiste. Has she assigned any additional staff to assist the community welfare officers in the processing of these claims? Will she issue new guidelines to the community welfare officers to cover all the reasonable costs of those who were uninsured? Will she provide money upfront to people who are insured but who are waiting for insurance companies to process their claims so they can pay their bills? If she has to put a lien on a claim at a later stage, that is fine, but she should take the burden from people who are facing bills for oil, electricity, pumps, replacement carpets and getting their homes back to some kind of normal state. The Tánaiste's Department has a responsibility to meet the basic and obvious costs associated with the trauma these people have suffered. Will she tell us what it has been doing?

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