Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 February 2014
154. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Social Protection the financial help available to householders whose homes are flooded; the numbers and the cost of providing help to households flooded over the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7427/14]
View answerThe Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is the lead Department for severe weather emergencies and the Office of Public Works has responsibility for capital flood relief activities. However, the Department of Social Protection has an important role to play in assisting households in the immediate aftermath of emergency events such as the recent severe weather conditions under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme (SWA).
Under the SWA scheme, the Department can make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. ENPs are payable at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.
In addition to the payment of ENPs, SWA legislation also provides for assistance in the form of an urgent needs payment (UNP) which can be made to persons who would not normally be entitled to SWA. The person may be required to pay the money back in respect of a UNP at a later date, for example, if the person had significant capital or income or was later compensated by an insurance company.
A humanitarian assistance scheme was approved by Government in November 2009. The scheme, which is means tested, is available to assist people whose homes are damaged by flooding and who are not in a position to meet costs for essential needs, household items and in some instances structural repair. The Government has not set a limit on the amount that can be paid to an individual household under this scheme. Levels of payment depend on the relative severity of damage experienced and the household’s ability to meet these costs ensuring that the funding is appropriately targeted. Humanitarian assistance does not cover risks that are covered by insurance policies or cover business or commercial losses.
Total expenditure on the humanitarian assistance scheme to the end of 2013 was approximately €2.2 million in respect of approximately 3,500 payments. The statistics available show that payments issued ranged from approximately €50 to €28,000.
In dealing with events of this nature the DSP generally adopts a three stage approach as follows:
- Stage 1 is to provide emergency income support payments for food, clothing, personal items and temporary accommodation in the immediate aftermath of the event. A relatively small amount of financial assistance is generally provided initially but this will increase as the extent of the problems become clearer.
- Stage 2 generally involves the replacement of white goods, basic furniture items and other essential household items. It is not until the flood water abates and houses dry out that the full extent of the damage to homes will become known.
- Stage 3 is to identify what longer term financial support or works are required. It could take several months before this stage of response commences and this involves a cross Departmental/Agency response. Work carried out can include plastering, dry-lining, relaying of floors, electrical re-wiring, painting etc.
Any person who is experiencing hardship as a result of the recent weather events should contact the Department’s local representative administering SWA who may be able to offer assistance.
