Pat Buckley
Question:285. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Social Protection when a family (details supplied) will receive payment for the recent flooding in east Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49334/23]
View answerTuesday, 14 November 2023
Questions (285)
Written answers
The purpose of the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is to prevent hardship by providing income tested financial support to people whose homes are damaged from flooding and severe weather events and who are not able to meet costs for essential needs, household items and in some instances structural repair. The scheme is administered by the Community Welfare Service (CWS) in this Department.In dealing with emergency events, the CWS generally adopts the following three-stage approach:• Stage 1: Provide emergency income support payments (food/clothing/personal items) in the immediate aftermath of the event.• Stage 2: Replacement of white goods, basic furniture items and other essential household items.• Stage 3: Identify what longer term financial support is required including plastering, dry lining, relaying of floors, electrical re-wiring, and painting.An income test is applied to claims which determines the household’s capacity to meet the costs of restoring their home to a habitable condition. All household income will be considered when determining entitlement to payment. The basic principle of the income test is that individuals and families with average levels of income will qualify for assistance. Humanitarian Assistance is designed to provide hardship alleviation, to people affected by an emergency event. The amount allowable in any case is the amount the Officer administering the scheme determines is required to replace essential losses and to make any essential repairs. The scheme does not replace items damaged or lost with items of similar value. Rather, the intention of the scheme is to return a person’s home to a habitable state and make essential repairs only. Where financial assistance is required for structural damage and the estimated cost as outlined in builder’s quotes is more than €5,000, the case will be referred to the Loss Adjusters appointed by the Department of Social Protection for consideration.According to the records of the Department, the person concerned made an application for support under the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme. A request for further information in support of their claim subsequently issued to them on 08/11/2023 and the response was only recently received. A Community Welfare Officer is currently engaging with the person concerned with regard to this claim.Separately, the person concerned applied for an Additional Needs Payment under Stage 1 of the Scheme and this claim was awarded. Cheques totalling €1,060 were issued to the person on 21/10/2023.I trust this clarifies the matter.