Government has failed to support householders, businesses and farmers affected by Storm Éowyn – Louise Ó Reilly TD

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Social Protection and Rural and Community Development, Louise O’Reilly TD, has condemned the government for failing to adequately support householders, businesses and farmers affected by Storm Éowyn in a manner that is fair, equitable and timely.

Speaking ahead of moving a Dáil motion on the issue, Deputy O’Reilly said that the government had backtracked on promises made, with two thirds of applications to the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS) rejected.

She added that many of those worst affected reported that applications for compensation for essential food and personal items were arbitrarily rejected without explanation, and she described as ‘blatantly insufficient’ the fact that the HAS had paid out just €10.5m to date.

Teachta O’Reilly said: 

“In late January, Storm Éowyn wreaked unprecedented havoc on transport, energy, water, telecommunications and internet infrastructure in areas across the state.

“Over two months on, and the government has failed to adequately support householders, businesses and farmers affected in a fair, equitable and timely manner.

”The government has turned its back on communities, and has left many households, farmers and businesses high and dry. 

“Many of those worst affected reported that their applications for compensation through the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme for essential food and personal items were arbitrarily rejected without explanation.

“It is clear that the HAS lacked structure and clear guidelines with claims assessed on an ad-hoc case by case basis, with no clear instructions on which items merited compensation and which did not. 

”The scheme was also closed for an unspecified period of time, without informing the public. 

“Just 45,744 of the 133,774 applications made have been successful.

”To this day, the HAS has paid out just €10.5m in financial support to applicants. This is blatantly insufficient given the extent of personal property damage in the wake of the storm.

”People were encouraged to apply for the scheme, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin assuring the public that the scheme was ‘open to those in need’.

”The Minister for Enterprise, Peter Burke, went further, assuring the public that ‘the government remains committed to supporting businesses through this recovery period and beyond. We will continue engaging with the business community to monitor emerging needs and ensure appropriate responses are in place’.

“These promises were nothing more than empty words and, despite calls from the opposition, the scheme was never once extended to businesses or farms.

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael misled people in the worst affected areas of the state without providing them any avenue through which to seek recourse.

“That is why Sinn Féin is tonight bringing forward a motion calling on government to adequately support householders, businesses and farmers affected by Storm Éowyn in a fair, equitable and timely manner.”

The motion in full can be read here.