A SCALED-UP FLOOD relief scheme for victims of Storm Babet could mean affected businesses may qualify for payments of up to €100,000.
A proposal will be brought to a meeting of Cabinet ministers today on flood relief for small businesses, as well as sporting and voluntary organisations, that were affected by the storm.
The Journal understands that existing humanitarian relief scheme for businesses will be stood up with quick payments of €5,000 and assessed and audited payments of up to €20,000.
Additionally, a second exceptional humanitarian relief scheme for businesses will be stood up with quick payments of €10,000 and audited and assessed payments of up to €100,000 under the proposal coming before Cabinet today.
If approved, the schemes would be administered by the Department of Enterprise. Trade and Employment through the Irish Red Cross.
Speaking at the Global Ireland Summit in Dublin today, Minister Eamon Ryan said the implementation of the relief “should be very quick”, adding that laws on planning permission won’t be changed to facilitate the scheme “because that could delay it”.
“We don’t want to create a really cumbersome bureaucratic process. We use the existing scheme, allow people to get funding from that.”
Minister for Enterprise Coveney is also expected to task Microfinance Ireland with providing low-cost loans up to €25,000 for businesses affected for the purpose of restocking or cash flow.
It is understood that the humanitarian payment is not an insurance payout or designed to compensate for loss of earnings.
Cabinet will hear that around 150 businesses and organisations are likely to apply for the payment.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said yesterday that schemes “on a scale that we haven’t seen before” would be required after the recent flooding, particularly in Midleton.
“This was a climate event of a huge scale, which has really devastated the businesses in Midleton, many people who had just bought their houses, having them destroyed,” he said.
He noted that there are two schemes currently in place, one for households and one for businesses, but said the government was “looking at revising the existing schemes” because “we don’t believe they’re fit for purpose”.
“I think the interventions will have to be on a scale that we haven’t seen before,” he said.
Currently, those in impacted by floods can apply, through the Red Cross, for a €5,000 initial relief payment where an adjudicator will visit the property on a later date and assess if an additional €15,000 can be availed to.
Minister Coveney has also said the existing schemes would not be “appropriate” for Midleton given the scale of the damage.
The flooding that hit parts of southern counties due to the storm is considered by locals to have been some of the worst for many years.
The risk of flooding is expected to become more frequent and more intense as climate change destabilises Ireland’s weather systems.
The Climate Action Plan 2023 outlined that the “most immediate risks to Ireland from climate change are predominantly those associated with changes in extremes, such as floods, droughts, and storms”.
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