Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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1061. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications for the humanitarian assistance scheme received by his Department in 2025 and for each of the past five years; the total number of successful applications and unsuccessful applications this year and for each of the past five years; and the total amount distributed under the scheme in 2025 and for each of the past five years. [12274/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The purpose of the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS) is to provide financial support in the aftermath of severe weather events to people who are not able to meet costs for essential needs, household items and, in some instances, structural repair.

This includes emergency support payments under Stage 1 of the scheme for items such as essential food and clothing in the immediate aftermath of the event. These payments are not income tested and are based on the immediate need of impacted individuals.

Support is also available under Stage 2 for the replacement of white goods and basic furniture, and under Stage 3 to repair damage to homes. Income limits for these supports are: €50,000 for a single person; €90,000 for a couple and €15,000 per dependent child.

Reduced or tapered levels of support may be provided in cases where a household‘s income is above these limits. The level of payment depends on how severe the damage is and a person’s ability to meet these costs.

The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, was activated on the 23rd January 2025 to assist householders affected across the country by Storm Éowyn.

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. As every claim has the right to review, the final number of disallowed applications will only be known when all reviews have been completed.

Definitive statistics are only maintained on annual expenditure and the number of payments made, rather than the number of applications received. Table 1 shows the annual expenditure and number of payments made under the Humanitarian Scheme, over the Stage 1, 2, and 3 for the past 5 years from 2020 to end of December 2024.

Tabular Statement

Table 1 - Expenditure and number of payments under the Humanitarian Scheme from 2019 to end of December 2024.