Emergency fund of €5m allocated to storm victims

The Government is to allocate a €5 million emergency fund to homes and businesses damaged by Storm Desmond.

Some rivers across the country remain in a “perilous” state following the storm, and the flood risk may persist for more than a week, according to the National Emergency Co-ordination Group.

A man in his 70s is believed to have drowned in Co Monaghan when he was swept away after getting out of his car when it got stuck in flood waters. He was reported missing at Monaghan Garda station yesterday morning and his body was found several hours later at Corraghdown, Glaslough, some distance away from his car.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny met Minister for Defence Simon Coveney, Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin and Minister of State at the Office of Public Works Simon Harris last night to consider the Government response to the situation.

An initial €5 million will be agreed to help those affected by the storm but the situation will be monitored closely over the coming days to assess whether extra funds will be required.

There will also be a new package for farmers to assist them with the movement of animals from flooded land.

Request

The Cabinet today will consider the request for emergency funding and will also examine a new process to allocate funding to businesses, which are not covered by any Government scheme.

The majority of a €10 million Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is still available. A spokesman for Tánaiste Joan Burton said the situation was under constant review to assess whether additional funds were required and to ensure anyone in need of the funds will receive them.

Ballybofey, Co Donegal, Crossmolina, Co Mayo, Ballinasloe, Co Galway, and Bandon, Co Cork, were among the worst affected areas as 10cm of rain fell over a 24-hour period across parts of the west on Friday and Saturday.

Up to 1,500 people marched in Bandon last night calling on the Government to deliver immediately on the town’s flood relief scheme to prevent any repeat of the flooding which damaged dozens of businesses and homes over the weekend.

Crossmolina, Co Mayo, suffered its worst flooding in over 52 years when the river Deel overflowed for the second time in as many months while in Foxford, 48 elderly residents had to be rescued from the Blackrocks Nursing Home.

Parts of Ballinasloe remained submerged as members of the Defence Forces helped distribute 3,000 sandbags to prevent further encroachment by flood waters.

Yesterday, Mr Kenny said damage caused across the country over the weekend had been a “terrible loss, three weeks before Christmas”.

He defended the progress made to date on flood defence and relief systems, adding an additional €1 billion, announced in the Government’s recent capital development plan, would be spent over the coming years.

"Clearly a month's rain in two days is something we are not used to in Ireland and November being a very wet month, with ground being saturated to a great extent, has exacerbated this problem," he said .

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said the rainfall that hit the country was unprecedented. "I've never seen anything like it," he said.

Local authorities have warned more flooding is probable this week, with councils in Westmeath, Limerick and Clare all informing residents of potential risks to property.

The ESB said a "significant release of water" from Parteen Weir could affect properties in southeast Clare and Limerick.

The ESB has also warned that there may be flooding of roads and lands upstream of Cork city over the coming days .