Less than half of storm claims paid to householders

Less than half of the welfare assistance claims made by people in Cavan following damage to their properties and financial losses incurred as a result of Storm Éowyn have been paid, according to published figures.

The county has one of the highest number of claims (5,284) made under the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS) in the wake of one of the worst ever recorded storms to hit Ireland. Claims from the Breffni county are behind only Galway (23,727), Mayo (13,821), and Roscommon (6,717).

The West and North Midlands was one of the worst affected regions by January's storm. Galway's Mace Head was buffeted by gusts of 183km/h (114mph), breaking the previous record set in 1945.

In Cavan the Met Eireann weather station at Ballyhaise clocked wind speeds of up to 115 kilometres per hour. It was the third strongest ever recorded - the highest being 122km/h in January 2005.

As an exceptional measure, additional flexibility has been applied to the timeframe for Stage 1 of the HAS scheme.

Up to March 22, the Community Welfare Service registered almost 72,358 claims for the first stage of the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme; with just over 26,700 claims awarded totalling over €6.12M in payouts.

Of the 5,284 claims made by people living in Cavan, 2,061 have been paid so far amounting to €468,958.42. The average payment made in respect of each individual claimant is €227.54.

The number of claims made in Cavan is the highest in the region. By comparison there were 1,375 claims made up to March 22 in Donegal, worth €89,780.81. In Monaghan, 2,667 have been made, valued at €158,275.91, with an average of €203.44 going to the 778 so far paid.

Leitrim had 3,553 people apply for HAS. The total cost of claims made there is €431,044.31. To date 1,617 have had payments issued, at an average of €266.57.

There have been 4,781 (2,046 paid) claims made in Longford worth €422,601.42; and 785 (253) in Meath where costs so far total €64,762.02.