Government commits €10m in humanitarian aid

Galway East Fianna Fáil TD Noel Treacy has confirmed details of funding committed by the Government to assist people affected by the recent flooding.

“Following a meeting of the Cabinet, the Government has committed €10 million to a humanitarian assistance scheme,” he said.
“This scheme will be coordinated between the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the local authorities and An Garda Síochána and it will be targeted at those in most hardship,” he added.
For the past week, wide areas of South Galway have been underwater, with Gort, Craughwell and Ballinasloe worst affected.
One family in the Gort area was airlifted to safety with between 35 and 40 people and two families in Craughwell were evacuated by the Air Corps and the Civil Defence up to last Tuesday. More evacuated themselves as flood waters penetrated their homes or blocked access roads.
Galway County Council and gardaí warned motorists not to travel unless absolutely necessary, with a number of towns and villages on the N18 impassable for lengthy periods over the past week.
Galway County Council and Ballinasloe Town Council, along with the gardaí, Civil Defence, Army, National Roads Authority, the Public Private Partnership Company, Air Corps, local volunteers, the HSE, the Office of Public Works, Met Eireann and the ESB have been working extensively in order to deal with the flooding emergency in the county over the past few days.
A number of homes and businesses in Labane, Kiltartan, Peterswell, Beagh and Crowe Street in Gort were flooded, causing thousands of euro worth of damage.
According to Deputy Treacy, “Currently, people can apply for two different types of payments – the Exceptional Needs Payment and the Urgent Needs Payment. Both of these are administered by Community Welfare Officers.
“An additional €2m has also been sanctioned under a Fodder Aid Scheme to assist farmers who have lost fodder in the floods,” he continued.
Flooding also caused massive disruption to motorists, with major tailbacks along the N18, numerous detours and the temporary opening of sections of the M6 to alleviate lengthy tailbacks. It has also been reported that approximately 7,000 acres of farmland is flooded in County Galway.
“Fodder damaged in flooded farmland may cause a feed shortage problem on some livestock farms. This could cause serious cash flow problems for farmers, which could have consequences for animal welfare so this funding has been allocated as a matter of urgency by the Minister for Agriculture, Brendan Smith,” the East Galway Fianna Fáil TD stated.
“I have also been in regular contact with Pat ‘the Cope’ Gallagher MEP in Brussels, updating him on developments. He is investigating EU funding options and he has already met with the EU Commissioner for Regional Policy to discuss funding possibilities,” he said.
Deputy Treacy also paid tribute to the huge effort from all those involved in the flood relief throughout the county.
A survey is currently underway to assess flood damage in Claregalway, Turloughmore, Oranmore and Menlo adjacent to the Galway City, to assess damage caused by flooding and to determine the most suitable measures to alleviate the flooding.