Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

672. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 116 of 27 February 2025, if he will provide a breakdown of the number of applications refused under the humanitarian assistance scheme, by county, in the aftermath of storm Éowyn to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16989/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, administered by my department through the local Community Welfare Service, was activated on the 23 January 2025 to assist householders across the country affected by Storm Éowyn.

Up to close of business on Thursday 3 April, the Community Welfare Service have registered 78,212 claims for Stage 1 of the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme. Just over 31,200 claims have been awarded, with over €7.5 million being paid in respect of Storm Éowyn related claims. Table 1 provides details up to 3 April on the number of applications registered, number of payments made, and expenditure by county since Storm Éowyn.

In the context of the particular circumstances of Storm Éowyn, and as an exceptional measure, additional flexibility has been applied to the timeframe for Stage 1 of the scheme. Stages 2 and 3 of the scheme also remain open for receipt of applications. As all decisions positive and negative have a right of review, the total number of disallowed claims will not be known until all requests for review are completed.

However, I can assure the Deputy that claim processing levels within the Community Welfare Service are closely monitored and that Humanitarian Assistance Scheme claims are being processed as quickly as possible, with priority given to the most urgent cases. Additional staff have been assigned to deal with applications to ensure there are no undue delays.

Where an immediate need presented in the aftermath of the storm these claims were paid by way of a cheque payment ‘on the spot’ by a Community Welfare Officer. The focus for the Department at the moment remains on ensuring that payments will issue as soon as possible to those eligible for the payment.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Tabular Statement

Table 1 - Number of Applications Registered and Payments Made, and Expenditure by County Since Storm Éowyn.