Details of aid scheme to assist those affected by last week’s severe flooding are to be finalised today, the Red Cross said.
The organisation is currently in discussions with the Office of Public Works to work out the logistics of the proposed scheme announced in the Dáil yesterday, Ms Aoife MacEion of the Irish Red Cross told ireland.com.
On announcing the aid scheme, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Mr Martin Cullen, said the Red Cross had implemented a similar scheme after the heavy floods of November 2000, when €3.49 million was paid in 447 cases within eight weeks.
Ms MacEion said: "It is an unique scheme where people are assessed confidentially and impartially. We are confident, should we be called upon, we will handle the relief scheme efficiently."
Once details are agreed, advertisements will be placed in the national newspapers, informing people about the scheme and inviting applications.
Those left homeless or without basic facilities are receiving immediate assistance from the Health Boards.
Meanwhile residents of East Wall in Dublin, one of the areas badly hit by flooding on Friday, are meeting tonight to discuss relief efforts.
Dublin City councillors and local politicians along with the Dublin Corporation Area Manager and his team are expected to attend, said Mr Joe Mooney, a resident representative said.
"The main focus of tonight’s meeting is on helping people get their lives back to normal," he said. Many families are without insurance or alternative accommodation, he added. About 180 families are thought to have evacuated their homes over the weekend.
Mr Mooney acknowledged numerous rumours were circulating suggesting the level of flooding experienced was not totally due to "natural causes". He said residents would be raising such issues with the Corporation.
"We will be asking what steps are being taken to insure this does not re-occur, assessing the emergence operation; and if anybody is to blame for the flooding," he said.
The last serious flooding in the area was in the early 1950s, according to locals. There was slight flooding experienced in the last decade but not on the scale of last weekend, Mr Mooney said.