Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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190. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a decision will be made for a humanitarian assistance scheme application for a person (details supplied) whose electricity supply was out following Storm Éowyn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15911/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS), administered by my department through the Community Welfare Service (CWS), was activated on 23 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.

Stage 1 of HAS is available to people who need immediate humanitarian support while they are without power and/or water. Payments under Stage 1 are not income tested and applications paid have generally been to meet the additional cost of food, in the context of people being unable to either refrigerate or cook food while they had no power.

The scheme does not provide a general compensation payment for damage or losses incurred as a consequence of a weather event. It does not cover damage or losses that are reasonably expected to be covered by insurance policies, this includes spoiled food in a freezer etc., nor does it cover commercial, agricultural, or business losses.

According to the records of the Department, the person concerned applied for a HAS stage 1 payment to assist with the additional costs incurred as a result of Storm Éowyn. I have been advised by my Department Officials that the person concerned was contacted on review of their application and reconfirmed that their household was without power for less than 48 hours. Based on the information provided, the Reviewing Officer has upheld the initial disallowance on the grounds that her household was not without power for an enduring length of time to have caused hardship in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn.

I trust this clarifies the matter.