State’s €10m flood relief fund an ‘empty PR exercise’

THE Government’s €10m flood relief fund war chest has been labelled an “empty PR exercise” after it emerged Cork victims have received just €648 each in emergency support, seven months after the disaster.

New figures on the level of help provided from official sources show hundreds of families are failing to receive any adequate aid.

Out of the €10m provided to the fund in order to support victims of the crisis with emergency and means-tested financial back-up, just €1.3m has been allocated.

And while 483 families in Cork have already applied for support in addressing their crippling financial circumstances, a mere €313,000 has been provided to the region.

The figure represents an average emergency financial support payment of just €648 – almost half the average pay out of €1,055 to families in Galway.

Criticising the failure to fully allocate the emergency funding, Greg Franklin, a representative of the Cork Flood Action Committee, said the support currently available was significantly less than what was required.

Noting that the full amount of financial aid has not been provided, he said that the initial €10m announcement was just a PR exercise designed to make it appear that the crisis was being addressed.

“What that shows is we’re receiving no help from politicians, just empty promises since November,” Mr Franklin warned.

“We have had huge bills during the floods; we have no insurance in many cases, we’re having our premiums increased by 300% or 400%.

“The insurance payouts are about half of what we’re owed and the average amount people have been getting isn’t appropriate.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever see that €10m, I don’t think we will, it will just go back into other areas when the year ends,” he said.

“Hundreds of people were affected by the floods and we’re not being supported.”

Mr Franklin added it was of concern that no conclusions had yet been drawn from the Oireachtas inquiry into the November floods crisis.

Responding to the news that Cork flood victims who have applied for emergency support have received just €648 per person, a Government spokesperson said payments have already been made for essential items such as emergency accommodation and furniture.

Payments for home repairs, he added, may take longer as homeowners have to first establish the cost and more large-scale claims are expected to be made over the coming weeks.

Charity group St Vincent de Paul has warned that up to 100 people have not accessed the fund, or sought any help, despite being in financial difficulty as a result of the floods.

The group has called on the state to set up a local group to document these cases and distribute the unspent aid immediately.