Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and everyone who contributed to the debate. I reiterate my thanks and that of my party to every person who stepped up and responded in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn. I want to respond to some of the Minister's contribution. We will work with the Minister, and right across the Dáil, to ensure future responses are fit for purpose and that those very famous lessons that have to be learned are indeed learned and acted upon.

There was confusion and the Minister acknowledged it himself. I have been contacted by people who were told by officials that the scheme was closed. The Minister says now it is open. I welcome that it will be open until 25 April, but the Minister needs to publicise that now. There are TDs in this Chamber who did not know. These are people who are very closely engaged in it. It is not very fair to say, "The scheme was never closed; what are you talking about?" The Minister knows, and I know, that people were told over the phone when they looked for assistance that the scheme had closed. The Minister needs to make it abundantly clear to every single person who might potentially benefit from it that they are in a position to be able to apply.

I welcome the commitment from the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, that small to medium enterprises will be looked at. I am dying to know what that will look like. I can commit absolutely to working with the Minister of State on that.

In the few seconds remaining to me I will read into the record some correspondence from a constituent of mine, lest anyone go home thinking this is only a problem in certain areas and not a problem in Dublin. I will call him John. That is not his name but I will not put his name on the record. He said:

Like many people I was told in my welfare office to complete the form and return it to them. It is not means tested they said. I filled it out and I returned it as I was told to put down what I lost. I had no damage to my home just the food in my fridge and freezer, which I was told to put down. What I didn't put down was the €300 I paid so that we could eat some hot food and buy €200 worth of fuel for our open fire just to keep us warm. There was no timeline on the form to have it returned and we weren't asked for receipts.

He did not get a penny. He was confused and the people dealing with him were also confused. He is going to have to pay back that money he spent because he does not have it. He will be paying that back now for a very long time. There was confusion. I welcome that the Minister has said this. I look forward to working with the Minister to ensure the next scheme is fit for purpose.

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