Flood relief payments for firms under expanded scheme of up to €100,000

Payments to businesses under an expanded flood relief scheme will rise to up to €100,000 under plans going to Government on Tuesday.

Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney is expected to bring a memo to Cabinet Tuesday morning seeking agreement to introduce a new exceptional humanitarian relief scheme for businesses with quick payments of up to €10,000.

Audited and assessed payments under the exceptional scheme will be worth up to €100,000.

The existing humanitarian relief scheme for businesses will provide quick payments of €5,000 and audited payments of up to €20,000.

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Microfinance Ireland will also be asked to provide low-cost loans of up to €25,000 for businesses affected to allow them to restock or to assist with cash flow. Reports have been sought from local authorities, with Cabinet to be told that about 150 entities are likely to apply. The payments are not insurance payouts or intended to compensate for loss of earnings, said sources on Monday evening.

It comes after severe flooding caused millions of euros of damage in east Cork last week, with more heavy rain on Monday night.

Another emergency scheme for householders with €10 million in funding, administered by the Red Cross, is already in operation but it is expected the Cabinet may also increase the terms around that fund.

The leaders of the three Coalition parties were also discussing possible reforms to the system for accommodating and supporting people fleeing the war in Ukraine. But it was not clear if the proposals would be ready for Cabinet on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, tenants will be able to pursue their landlord for up to €20,000 in penalties if their home is sold on the open market for less than the renter offered, under proposals going before the Cabinet on the day. Long-awaited new laws giving effect to Coalition measures announced in the spring when the eviction ban was lifted will be considered by the Government, with the general scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill being brought to Cabinet by Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien.

It will give tenants a legal right to make a bid on their home if they are served with a notice of termination where the landlord intends to sell their property.

The landlord must contact the renter offering the chance to buy the home. The tennant/s will be given 90 days to make a bid and if they are outbid by a private buyer they will have the chance to submit another offer at the price offered by the other potential purchaser. Under the new laws, if a matching bid comes in from the tenant, the landlord will have to accept that offer.

If the landlord is later found to have accepted a lower offer from the private market, the tenant will be able to seek redress up to €20,000 through the Residential Tenancies Board, it is understood.

If agreed by the Cabinet on Tuesday, the Bill will be published and sent for pre-legislative scrutiny, before onward passage through the Oireachtas.

Meanwhile, Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan will bring proposals for another long-delayed scheme to Cabinet. Low-cost loans for homeowners looking to retrofit their houses were first promised last year but delayed for months.

The €500 million scheme will be underpinned by the European Investment Bank (EIB), with people able to borrow from €5,000 to €75,000 at interest rates that Coalition sources said would be “significantly lower” than those available in the market. The loans will be available alongside existing Government grants for retrofitting, with further details available later in the week after an official signing between ministers and the EIB.