15-07-2025
€13.6m paid out to households impacted by Storm Éowyn
Over 60% of the €13.6m paid out in humanitarian assistance after Storm Éowyn went to Galway, Mayo and Roscommon, according to new figures.
Storm Éowyn brought a record-breaking mean wind speed of 135km/h at Mace Head in Galway, along with gusts measuring 183km/h at the same weather station.
768,000 homes, businesses and farms were left without power as a result of the storm on 24 January.
Meanwhile, 115,000 homes were left without water, with hundreds of thousands more under threat as a result of the power outages.
The Government's Humanitarian Assistance Scheme sets out to provide supports to people living in properties impacted by extreme weather events, such as Storm Éowyn.
As of 3 June, €13.6m was awarded to 55,700 applications, as detailed by Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary at the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Social Protection on 11 June.
Well over half of the awards were for residents in counties Galway, Mayo and Roscommon, according to briefing documents released to RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme under the Freedom of Information Act.
There were 18,756 awards to homeowners in Galway totalling over €4.7m - the most of any county in Ireland.
The State awarded 10,127 payments worth over €2.3m to people in Mayo, and 5,808 awards totalling just under €1.6m in Roscommon.
Leitrim is the county with the highest average award at €301.52 - 3,076 applications were awarded a combined €927,464.
Cavan, Clare, Longford, Monaghan, Sligo and Westmeath all had over 1,000 successful applications for the scheme.
The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme provides income-tested financial assistance to households and is administered by the Community Welfare Service.
It is available in three stages: Stage 1 provides emergency support in the immediate aftermath of the event. Payments under Stage 1 are not income tested and are generally for essential food and clothing based on the immediate need of individuals; Stage 2 and 3 provide income-tested financial support to people whose homes are damaged and who are not able to meet costs for essential needs, household items and in some instances structural repair.
