Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have spoken to the Taoiseach on a number of occasions about his meeting with the businesses and households in Leitrim who were hit by the devastating weather event. We are anxious to be as helpful as we can. Supports from the Department of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, are open to households. I asked Mircrofinance Ireland to send an official down to Leitrim to speak to businesses to see if we can try to make short-term money available for businesses. That has happened. We are working with Mircrofinance Ireland to try to ensure that low-cost loan facilities will be available before the end of the year. I understand there was an indication that they might not be available until January so we are working to try to make that happen much faster. We must build an understanding of the responsibility of the insurance industry and companies that provide insurance to provide a clearer picture for how best we can help businesses.

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