Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the sudden closure of the humanitarian assistance scheme, which has now locked out many people seeking support following Storm Éowyn. This was not advertised or publicised. Offices are turning people with forms away. The ESB will not show any goodwill or common decency - it is going ahead with charging people for a service they did not have. I am disappointed the Government as the majority owner did not step in. People are still without landlines 54 days after the storm. I am aware of people in their 80s and 90s without their panic alarms because they do not have a landline. I do not know what Eir is doing. Will the Taoiseach ensure those genuine cases of people affected by the storm can access the humanitarian assistance scheme? I have no issue if a date to end it has to be put in place but that should be publicised and communicated before it closes, not after.

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