Dozens apply for funds to repair flood damage

Almost 150 businesses have made inquiries about a €5m government fund set up to help those hit by flooding, although just 37 of those have filled out application forms on the Red Cross website since they were made available on Friday.

Under the scheme small businesses in flood-prone areas that were unable to get insurance are entitled to an initial €5,000 grant and could apply for further funding of up to €20,000 to help repair damage.

Although water levels on many rivers have peaked with some areas seeing a decrease, it will be weeks and maybe months before the full extent of damage caused by flooding can be calculated.

The River Shannon at Athlone is now reaching peak river levels but Tom Browne of the ESB said they continue to monitor the River Lee in Co Cork.

He said: “On the River Lee there is still persistent rain on the river catchment so we are continuing to monitor that. We continue to discard water from Inniscarra. The river is bank-full at the moment with areas of local flooding between here and Cork City.”

He said the ESB may have to increase the discharge of water from the Inniscarra dam in the coming days but is continuing to monitor water levels.

On the scheme to help businesses Liam O’Dwyer, the secretary general of the Red Cross, said: “We have received a large number of calls since yesterday. We have 37 requests, the forms have actually arrived in, we have around 15% of those that will need to be adjusted, they have to go back. The rest of the forms will be processed straight away by local authorities and once they come back we will be able to facilitate the payment.”

He said the first €5,000 would be paid to businesses before Christmas but those applying for the second tranche would have to be assessed after Christmas.

The defence forces have dispatched almost 1,000 personnel to help flood hit communities since Storm Desmond and a spokesman said personnel had been deployed to Athlone, Clonlara, and Castleconnell in the past 24 hours.