417 households receive cheques thanks to €1.4 million in flood relief donations

The Irish Red Cross received over 400 applications for humanitarian aid from householders from those areas around the country most affected by the devastating floods.

29% of all applications came from Galway and 24% from Cork, reflecting some of the areas which were hit hardest by the flooding. 13% of all applications were sent from Westmeath, 7% from Tipperary, 5% from Clare, 4% from Kildare, 2% from Roscommon and 2% from Limerick.

A smaller number of applications amounting to 14% came from counties Carlow, Cavan, Dublin, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Monaghan, Offaly and Wicklow.

Mr Tony Lawlor, Acting Chairman of the Irish Red Cross, said that the majority of applications for humanitarian assistance were received between 22 January and 5 February.

“Those who are receiving Red Cross funds this week have gone through the loss of property, trauma, and hardship and while the funds will provide some comfort, nothing will ever compensate them for that awful experience,” he said.

The average payment to each household was approximately €3,000, with all payments assessed on a damage and hardship scale from 1 to 5 - Grade one represented minimal hardship and grade 5 represented severe hardship.

The Irish Red Cross has been accepting applications to its Flood Relief Fund since the end of December, encouraging victims of the floods to apply for financial assistance. The closing date for applications was extended from Friday 22 January until Friday 5 February, so as to provide householders with sufficient time to make applications.

Since 5 February and today, 4 fully qualified assessors, commissioned by the Red Cross have been working 6 days a week for five weeks. They met with each of the applicants, visited the hundreds of people in their homes in local communities directly affected by the flooding, and calculated the appropriate amount to be allocated.

Mr Lawlor said that the Red Cross was anxious to allocate the funds donated by the people of Ireland as quickly as possible.

“However, we were advised that many of the householders needed time to assess the damage, establish what claims they could make to insurance companies, and local authorities before submitting an application to the Irish Red Cross.

“To facilitate these people we set the deadline for applications for the 22 January. We were then asked to extend that for a further two weeks until the 5 February and a high percentage of all applications were received during that period,” he said.

For more information on the Irish Red Cross flood relief process log onto www.redcross.ie

Notes to Editor

1. Interviews with Irish Red Cross spokespersons can be arranged.
2. The humanitarian relief fund is not means tested and is independent of any other compensation or assistance received by households
3. The Irish Red Cross launched an extensive Flood Disasters Appeal in the aftermath of the widespread flooding which struck the country in November 2009, raising €1.4 million to date.
4. Red Cross volunteers and ambulances assisted victims of the flooding 24 hours-a-day by helping to evacuate people from their homes, transferring emergency medical staff to and from work in 4x4 vehicles, and distributing water and blankets.
5. This is the 7th Floods Relief Scheme operated by the Irish Red Cross since the start of the millennium. Previous Flood Relief Schemes, funded by the government, were run by the Irish Red Cross in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,2004 and 2005- 2006.
6. There are approximately 6,000 members of the Irish Red Cross who are all volunteers serving in local communities in every county in Ireland.

For media enquiries please contact Pia Ward, Fundraising and Communications Officer at 087-7433 275.