No red tape for flood victims, minister pledges
Minister of State Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran visited homes, farms and businesses devastated by flooding in Donegal yesterday and will travel back to the region next week to make sure that people are being assisted.
A humanitarian assistance scheme to help those forced from their homes to pay for emergency accommodation, food, clothing and other essentials has been set up by the Department of Social Protection.
Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty said her Department “will do everything we can to relieve the immediate stress” of those impacted, and officials are already on the ground.
“Our immediate priority is to provide emergency income support to families and individuals to help with payments for urgent needs such as food, clothing and personal items,” she said.
Ms Doherty said that in the medium term assistance will also be given to replace white goods, basic furniture and other essential household items.
She added: “It is not until the flood water abates and houses dry out that the full extent of the damage to homes will become known. Once this has happened, we will identify what longer term financial support or works are required.”
But she warned that this type of assistance which could include plastering, dry-lining, re-laying of floors, electrical re-wiring and painting could take “some time”.
Local authorities are now in the process of calculating the cost of repairing roads, bridges and other infrastructure that were destroyed as a result of the severe weather which saw over a month’s rain fall in just a few hours earlier this week.
Mr Moran, who has called a meeting of the National Emergency Coordination group today, said he will ensure that people are not prevented from accessing assistance.
“We can’t have any obstacles in preventing business getting back up and running.
“What I don’t want to see, as happened in the past, is that people will come back to me in a week or two and tell me that they have not been contacted or have not received help,” said Mr Moran.
The Minister of State with responsibility for flood prevention said he had put a number of practical measures in place during his visit to Donegal and has asked the council to assist the clean-up in both private and local authority housing developments.
Information leaflets will be dropped into homes and skips placed in estates.
