Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity and thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important matter. The devastation caused by the flooding since early December is still widely affecting our communities. We have seen the destruction of land, business and of so many people's family homes. Last night, in excess of 100 people gathered in the Bounty in Athlone. I could see in their faces that they were suffering from physical and mental exhaustion. I was struck by the frustration they are experiencing, and the heartbreaking stories they shared with me and other public representatives who were there last night. One woman spoke about getting up in the morning and putting on a pair of waders to wade out to her gate to get on the back of a tractor, for the tractor to bring her down the road where she could get into her car just to do a little shopping. That is the level of inconvenience that these people have to endure.

5 o’clock

Another elderly woman spoke about having to relocate from her house to a hotel and of coming down to breakfast one morning to be told she had to vacate the hotel by check-out at 11 a.m. that day.

Many of the issues in regard to the community welfare officer and the restrictive nature of the scheme were dealt with by Deputy Dooley this morning with the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection. I have a real issue with legitimate, tax-compliant businesses being refused access to the Red Cross scheme. The Egan family business has self-catering chalets which are exempt from commercial rates, and it is not the case they are not paying the rates. Thomas Cleary, a horse trainer, is also exempt from commercial rates, and there is also the case of Patricia Doyle. It is not that these people are not meeting their obligations but they have not been able to access the Red Cross funding despite the fact they have legitimate businesses that have been flooded and devastated.

The sad part is that the Taoiseach, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Minister of State, Deputy Harris, all came and met each and every one of these people and they promised that the criteria would be changed in order that people could avail of the funding. It is simply not good enough that, four weeks after the most senior members of the Government visited Athlone, these people still cannot access funding to help them repair the damage that has been caused by the flooding, which is totally outside their control.

What is in the control of the Government is the eligibility criteria which would give these people the money to which they are entitled. The community welfare officers need to be given instructions by the Minister responsible, the Minister for Social Protection in order that people who voluntarily took time off work to protect their homes, who have incurred additional expenses through ESB charges and the hiring of pumps, and who had to buy in food and incur additional costs would be supported by the Government. It is a damning indictment of this Government that Ministers came to Athlone four weeks ago, made promises and, today, those promises have not been honoured. While I accept it is not the responsibility of the Minister of State, Deputy McHugh, I plead with him to speak to the relevant Ministers in order that they can make the necessary amendments and give these people their just entitlements.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I acknowledge the suffering and hardship many families have endured in recent weeks. To an extent, we had our own issues in Donegal before Christmas, particularly in the Finn valley area, but the situation was more acute in the midlands. I acknowledge the considerable hardship many people have gone through. With regard to the three examples, it is important we know the details, whether that is through myself or the Minister, and we are happy to follow them up.

In the immediate aftermath of Storm Desmond at the beginning of December 2015, the Government approved the allocation of €5 million to be distributed as emergency humanitarian support to small businesses which, through no fault of their own, have been unable to secure flood insurance and had been flooded during the period of 4 December 2015 to 17 December 2015. Subsequent to the storms which continued into late December and early January, the Government decided to expand the scheme to cover the period of December 2015 to January 2016. It was also decided to allow community, voluntary and sporting organisations which could not obtain flood insurance and had suffered flood damage to their premises to apply for assistance.

The scheme, which is being administered by the Irish Red Cross Society, provides a once-off ex gratiacontribution towards the costs of returning business premises to their pre-flood condition, including the replacement of flooring, fixtures and fittings and damaged stock. It does not cover repairs to football pitches, race tracks or golf courses affected by the floods. The scheme does not provide a contribution to loss of earnings or loss of business goodwill. The scheme is not intended to act as a compensation for loss, nor is it intended to provide an alternative to insurance cover.

The emergency nature of the flooding incident required an urgent response to try to make payments to small businesses for business continuity purposes in the run-up to Christmas. A two-stage approach was agreed by Government. The first stage provides a contribution of up to €5,000 per property, depending on the scale of damage incurred. Applications under the €5,000 threshold are being paid following a quick verification process between the Irish Red Cross and the local authority responsible for the area in which the business was flooded. The second stage of the scheme provides a means to seek further support of up to €20,000 per property. This involves a lengthier process requiring a detailed assessment of the damage by loss assessors appointed for this purpose by the Irish Red Cross. The total level of support available for both stages combined is capped at €20,000 per property. Application forms for the scheme are available on the Irish Red Cross website.

I thank the Irish Red Cross for the work it is doing in ensuring applications are processed and payments are disbursed in a speedy manner. While the Irish Red Cross is an independent charitable organisation, the allocation of the funds is provided by the Exchequer. As with any funding provided by the Exchequer, there is a requirement for governance and accountability. There has to be prudent management and financial controls. While controls must be in place, the emergency nature of the response requires a system which is not cumbersome or overly bureaucratic. In the case of small businesses, the controls that have been put in place for payment under the scheme include that the business must have been trading at the time of the flooding incident and that the business must have been operating in a rateable premises. This allows for the speedy turnaround in the processing of payments as once these details are verified by the relevant local authority and subject to the application form containing full details, the Irish Red Cross can then make a payment to the applicant for an amount up to €5,000. The Irish Red Cross continues to receive application forms and payments are processed daily. The charity advises that 122 payments have been made to date.

The Minister for Defence has visited a number of sites affected by flooding in recent weeks and has seen at first hand the difficulties many small businesses have experienced. In cases of particular hardship, I understand the Minister is open to having the criteria reviewed where exceptional circumstances arise.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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With all due respect, we know the schemes that are available. My point is that the schemes available are too restrictive and legitimate family-run businesses, the backbone of the local economy, are being penalised. The Minister visited the areas and the Taoiseach came out of hiding after four weeks and visited the areas. Well done, he did his job. However, he made a promise when he visited the areas that the people who were not getting funding but who deserved it would get it. Four weeks on, that has not happened.

All through Christmas, I was in a dry house, thank God. What must it be like for people who were left with the severe destruction of flooding? The Government is not providing the assistance they deserve. I do not want to hear any more about reviews or exceptional needs payments. These people need help and assistance now. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, needs to say he accepts that the scheme as it was originally set up is too restrictive and that these people will be accommodated. The Tánaiste, Deputy Burton, needs to say she is instructing the community welfare officers in this regard. I pay tribute to community welfare officers for the work they are doing but they too are operating under restrictive conditions.

People who gave up their time and took unpaid leave to protect their homes have additional ESB and fuel charges and the cost of the hire of pumps. These costs must be included. What we are effectively saying to people is that if they did not protect their houses and let them flood, we would have put them up in the local hotel and given them assistance to repair the houses on their return. The people who protected their houses should also be compensated.

It is not their fault their houses, businesses and lands were flooded. It is not their fault they cannot obtain insurance. However, it is the Government's fault that it is not stepping up to the mark and providing the compensation that is urgently needed.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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I am not going to get into the bear pit with the Deputy today. I think that may be what he wants me to do. The Deputy's question relates to the need for the Minister for Defence to amend the eligibility criteria. The Minister has indicated that he is open to having the criteria reviewed. Therefore, he is answering the question.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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When will that happen, four weeks on?

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy asked the question and the Minister has responded. As I said at the outset, the examples the Deputy gave are important and it is equally important to give them to the Minister. He is open to amending the criteria.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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It is only three examples.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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I am not going to jump into a bear pit on a Thursday evening. This is a serious issue. It is not just the Red Cross that is involved. The Deputy is aware of the great work his local authority did and the great work done by the local authority in Roscommon. I was speaking to Deputy Fitzmaurice about the work done at the height of the devastation by the emergency services and the community. A massive effort was made. The Government is responding to that emergency and it had to respond quickly.

The Deputy has highlighted issues that need to be dealt with and has cited specific examples relating to businesses. The Minister is open to reviewing these and I will speak to him privately on the matter. He will have this record and his officials are listening to this debate. Circumstances change. This is about addressing issues at this difficult time for so many people. I take the point raised by the Deputy and accept he has raised a serious issue. The Minister is serious about the issue also.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I will raise the issue again in parliamentary questions to the Minister for Defence next Tuesday and I hope he will have a concrete answer for me at that stage.