LIMERICK Labour Party councillor Tom Shortt has called on Minister Joan Burton to speed up assistance for flood victims on King’s Island who own their own homes.
Cllr Shortt has written to the Social Protection Minister calling for an urgent solution to problem facing private homeowners on King’s Island who were unable to insure their houses. He said that there had been no progress on refurbishment of private houses over the past three weeks while work was progressing rapidly on properties owned by the city council.
“This hold-up is disappointing as private homeowners earning less than €70,000 were told they were covered under the Department of Social Protection’s Humanitarian Assistance Scheme but so far they are left waiting for approval.
“I reminded the Minister that the ground floors of houses were completely destroyed and that entire kitchens and furniture had to be thrown out and that the houses are just shells now. The situation is very frustrating for these people as her Department has provided funds to replace white goods and furniture but no funding to redo the walls, wiring and door frames that must be replaced first before the appliances and furniture can go in,” he explained.
Cllr Shortt also suggested that it would be preferable if the city council coordinated contractors to carry out works on the King’s Island.
“Many of these residents have no experience of hiring contractors and I have asked Minister Burton to address the problem urgently as people need to be told what is happening as soon as possible so they have some idea of when they will be able to move back into their homes,” he concluded.
