The Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín TD has written to the Minister for Social Protection in relation to “huge discrepancies” in the sums being paid out via the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, and the rate of refusal from the Department, which was announced in the wake of Storm Éowyn.
Mr Tóibín says he has been contacted by many people around the country who failed to secure funding through the scheme, despite doing everything the application form told them to do.
Speaking today Deputy Tóibín said:
“The application form for the scheme did not ask for receipts for accommodation, yet the department is refusing some payments citing a lack of receipts submitted. In some cases the department is telling people that they are being refused because the power was only gone for 48 hours, despite these people having endured two weeks without power. It must also be noted that nowhere in the application form did it stipulate that only those who suffered power outages for more than 48 hours could apply. Its very clear that the government are trying to spend as little as possible here, and have designed a scheme surrounded by so much red tape that it is near impossible to access the supports”.
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In a letter to Minister Calleary yesterday, Deputy Tóibín wrote:
Dear Minister Calleary,
I am writing to draw your attention to apparent huge discrepancies in the rate of payouts and qualification criteria for the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme announced by your Department in the wake of Storm Éowyn.
You will appreciate that the scale of the storm and damage it caused was unprecedented in living memory. I’m aware of situations where people were left without power for up to three weeks, untold hardship was caused to people and families.
After you announced the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme many of those affected spent money which you had led them to believe could be recouped at a later date through the scheme. People without running water, communications or electricity in freezing conditions moved into hotels for a few days, in the safe knowledge of imminent reimbursements.
Now what has happened is that this reimbursement didn’t come.
I have been contacted by many people across the country who are puzzled at the decision to refuse the one-off payment to them. Your department gave one woman a grand total of €15 to cover the costs associated with the loss of €200 worth of food in her freezer. While others received full and warranted payouts, more have been told ‘no’, despite the application form reading identically. Some have been told that the loss of food is not covered under the scheme while others have been granted funds.
I know from speaking to other politicians too that the issue is not unique. Right across the affected counties people are unhappy and have identified huge inconsistencies in the decision making process. It’s almost as if your department is picking names from a hat in their allocation of supports at this stage.
I needn’t remind you that during this crisis your party leader travelled to Roscommon and promised the sun, moon and stars to people there. The people to whom that promise was made feel cheated and abandoned now.
Can you please investigate the reasons why there is such a discrepancy in the rate of payout to different people, and between the rate of acceptance and rejection of applications for assistance.
When this scheme was announced you promised, in flashing neon lights, that it was not ‘means tested’, and yet there seems to be enormous discrepancies and no consistency whatsoever.
Awaiting your response,
Peadar Tóibín TD
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For Oral Answer on : 27/02/2025
Question Number(s): 135 Question Reference(s): 7723/25
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Peadar Tóibín T.D.
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QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who applied for the various humanitarian assistance schemes introduced after the recent storm; the number who were successful in their application; the number who were unsuccessful; and the amount paid out under the humanitarian assistance schemes.
– Peadar Tóibín T.D.
For ORAL answer on Thursday, 27 February, 2025.
REPLY
The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is administered by my department through the local Community Welfare Service and was activated on the 23rd January 2025 to assist householders across the country affected by Storm Éowyn.
In dealing with emergency events, the Community Welfare Service generally adopts a three-stage approach.
• Stage 1 provides emergency support payments such as food, clothing and personal items in the immediate aftermath of the event.
• Stage 2 involves the replacement of white goods, basic furniture items and other essential household items.
• Stage 3 is to identify what longer term financial support is required, including plastering, dry-lining, relaying of floors, electrical re-wiring and painting.
My Department is currently working to process the large volume of Humanitarian Assistance Scheme Stage 1 claims that has been received since Storm Éowyn on the 24th of January.
Since Storm Éowyn, almost 12,000 payments have been made to members of the public up to the 25th February 2025, totalling almost € 2.6 million. Other relevant statistics are being collated and my officials will contact the Deputy once these numbers have been finalised.
