Micheál Carrigy (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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1055. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications received under the humanitarian assistance scheme for loss of food due to extended power outages following storm Éowyn; the total number of applications received by his Department; the number of applications processed to date; the number of applications approved and rejected; to provide a breakdown, by county, of applications and outcomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12108/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS), administered by my department through the Community Welfare Service, was activated on the 23rd January 2025 to assist householders affected across the country by Storm Éowyn.

Humanitarian assistance is available in three stages.

Stage 1 of the HAS is available to people while they are directly impacted by the storm. It targets people who need immediate supports.

This stage of humanitarian assistance is to help people with the essentials of life – food, water, shelter and warmth.

Stage 2 support generally involves the replacement of white goods, basic furniture items and other essential household items after a severe weather event.

Stage 3 humanitarian support helps to make a person’s accommodation habitable again in the aftermath of a severe weather event. It generally includes funding for work such as plastering, dry-lining, relaying of floors, electrical re-wiring and painting.

Up to 14 March 2025, just under 66,900 applications have been received. 22,872 Stage 1 claims have been awarded with a total of over €5.2 million being paid in respect of Storm Éowyn related claims. The majority of payments made to people to date have been to meet the additional cost of feeding their families in the immediate aftermath of the storm where people remained without power and/or water.

The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme Stage 1 is in place to address essential needs in respect of shelter and sustenance in the immediate aftermath of the storm, when people were without power and other utilities Stage 1 of the HAS scheme provides emergency support payments to cover food and other essential costs at that time only. Throughout the continuing power outage, people who could not store and/or cook food were supported with the additional cost of food. However the scheme does not provide a general compensation payment for damage or losses incurred as a consequence of a weather event. Nor does it cover damage or losses that are reasonably expected to be covered by insurance policies, this includes spoiled food in a freezer etc.

It is important to note that humanitarian assistance – which provides the financial support for the essentials of life during a severe weather event – should not be conflated with the wider question of compensation

Stages 2 and 3 of the HAS remain open and the Department continues to currently accept applications. I encourage people who were affected to submit their application for these Stages.

A breakdown by county of applications received and payments made under Stage 1 is as follows: