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The Minister for Defence, Mr. Simon Coveney T.D., has announced the expansion of the criteria for eligibility for small businesses affected by recent flooding to make a claim under the temporary emergency humanitarian support scheme which is being administered by the Irish Red Cross.

In establishing the scheme, the nature of the emergency response required an immediate payment to be made to the applicant to allow the business to recover quickly and continue trading. This was done on verification by the relevant local authority that the business was flooded and was trading in a premises subject to commercial rates. This restriction has excluded a very small number of businesses who were trading at the time of the flood and suffered flood damage to their premises but were not in occupation of rateable premises from receiving a contribution under the scheme.

The Minister confirmed that in the case of businesses which are not in a premises subject to commercial rates, the applicant can supply a tax clearance certificate to the Irish Red Cross, or where this is not available, recent correspondence from Revenue showing a tax registration number.

Welcoming the decision, the Minister for Defence, said “I have visited a number of areas in the country and seen the damage caused to many business premises as a result of the recent floods. This expansion of the scheme is further indication of the Governments continued support to alleviating some of the damage caused to the business community”.

The Minister also confirmed that the closing date for acceptance of completed application forms has been extended to 21 February 2016. The Minister again thanked the Irish Red Cross for their continued co-operation in administering the scheme.

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Note to Editors:
In the immediate aftermath of Storm Desmond, at the beginning of December 2015, the Government established a fund of €5m to aid small businesses who through no fault of their own could not obtain flood insurance but suffered flood damage to their business premises.  The fund which is being administered by the Irish Red Cross was initially intended to cover the period 4th December 2015 to 17th December 2015. However, following the flooding which occurred over the Christmas period it was decided to extend the period beyond the 17th December. Following the Government meeting of 5th January 2016, the scheme was further extended to cover voluntary, community and sporting organisations.

The scheme continues to apply only to flood damage caused to buildings and contents and does not extend to flood damage to land, including farms, pitches, training gallops, etc.

The Department of Social Protection’s Humanitarian Assistance Scheme provides emergency financial assistance to households who are not able to meet costs for essential needs immediately following flooding. Details of the scheme are available at http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Humanitarian-Assistance-Scheme.aspx.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has introduced several measures to address the impact of the storms and flooding on farms. The Department’s Animal Welfare Helpline (Callsave: 0761 064408 or 01 607 2379) is operational for farmers in need of emergency support. Farmers impacted by flooding are also advised to keep in touch with their Teagasc Adviser for advice. (Teagasc Advisory Helpline: Callsave 0761 113555).