The Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary, has confirmed that the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme will be available to provide support to those living in properties directly affected Storm Éowyn.
The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme prevents hardship by providing income-tested financial support to people whose homes are damaged from flooding and severe weather events and who are unable to meet costs for essential needs, household items and structural repair.
In dealing with emergency events the department generally adopts a three-stage approach as follows:
- Stage 1 provides emergency support payments for food, clothing and personal items in the immediate aftermath of the event
- Stage 2 involves the replacement of white goods, basic furniture items and other essential household items
- Stage 3 is to identify what longer term financial support is required, including plastering, dry-lining, relaying of floors, electrical re-wiring and painting
If any homeowner affected by severe weather needs to access these supports, the emergency Community Welfare Service contact details are available here: gov.ie – Customer Notices (www.gov.ie).