Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 March 2018
157. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of homeowners who have applied for the VHR scheme by county in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12660/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn April 11 2017, the Government agreed the administrative arrangements for a once-off Voluntary Homeowners Relocation Scheme for those primary residential properties that flooded between, or as a result of flooding between 4 December, 2015 and 13 January, 2016. This is a national scheme of humanitarian assistance, targeting aid at those worst affected properties, for which there are no alternative feasible measures.
The Government decision confirmed that a homeowner had to meet a number of conditions to be eligible for assistance under this scheme, including:
- That floodwater entered and damaged the building during the relevant dates such as to render it uninhabitable.
- That the property was the homeowner’s primary residence at the time of the floods.
- That the affected property must have a significant probability of the recurrence of the flood depth, duration or frequency on a scale that could cause further serious and similar damage to the home.
- That the property is not due to or may not benefit from a planned or possible future major, minor or individual flood defence scheme.
- That the property may not be protected adequately from being flooded in the future, at an economically feasible cost, through other flood mitigation works including minor works, individual property protection or other possible measures that can be considered at this time.
- That the homeowner is unable to obtain flood risk insurance.
Homeowners have had the opportunity to express an interest in the Scheme directly with the Office of Public Works. Those homes that meet the criteria are invited to an individual information meeting with the OPW.
The numbers of homes within the process are changing weekly as the process evolves and as assessments are carried out. The current position is as follows:
- The OPW has met with 22 homeowners to date.
- A further 12 homeowners have confirmed attendance at information meetings scheduled with the OPW over the coming weeks.
Those homeowners deemed to merit further consideration under the scheme, following the information meeting, will be invited to apply for a site inspection of their home. This assessment will consider the primary residence against the criteria for the scheme, including if there is a possible engineering solution.
The overall number of homes currently under consideration for the Scheme is relatively low which presents a risk that individual homeowners could be identified by providing data on a County level.
