Vol. 563 No. 4
222 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Finance the amount of money paid out to the victims of the February 2002 floods in the East Wall-North Strand area and the Ringsend area by the Red Cross; the breakdown of the allocation of the money; if he has satisfied himself that all the money allocated by the Government has been fully accounted for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7783/03]
The Government allocated €8,500,000 in humanitarian aid to the victims of the February 2002 floods which affected various areas around the country including the East Wall, North Strand and Ringsend areas.
A total of 733 applications have been processed to date, 80% from the Dublin area and 20% from the rest of the country. The average payment at present is €10,866. A number of late applications and appeals are still under consideration and, after payment of administration costs, a balance of €84,953 of the grant remains to cover any further payments.
I am satisfied that the money provided by the Government has been properly accounted for. A full breakdown of these costs can be found in the Irish Red Cross report on the scheme, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library.
