2.2m paid out to flood victims in four years

Compensation amounting to €2.2m out of a €10m fund has been paid out to homeowners affected by flooding in the last four years under a Government humanitarian assistance scheme.

The Department of the Environment said 3,500 payments have been made under the scheme since November 2009, but only €2.2m has been drawn down from the €10m fund.

This scheme is separate to the €15m in compensation announced by the Government last week.

A breakdown of the data shows that, in 2010, around €1m was paid to 2,100 householders mainly in Galway and Roscommon who suffered damage to their homes following the floods in November 2009.

In 2011, €359,000 was paid out to householders, mainly in Dublin and Monaghan, who suffered damage to their homes following flooding in autumn 2011. In 2012, over €714,000 was paid out to householders mainly in Dublin, Cork, and Monaghan, who suffered damage to homes following the same period of flooding, as well as damage caused by floods in June 2012.

The recipients of the aid in those two years were mainly based in Dublin (978 claims amounting to €916,000), Monaghan (46 claims to the value of €28,000) and Cork (119 claims to the value of €129,000). Amounts paid out to claimants was more widespread last year. In 2013, around €151,800 was paid under the scheme for 166 claims, of which some €51,000 was paid in Dublin and more than €66,700 in Galway. In Cork, residents affected by flooding received over €16,000.

Money has also been paid out for the first month of this year. A total of €17,327 was paid for 17 claims in January, almost half of whom were in Galway.