VICTIMS of the summer flooding that affected thousands of Irish homeowners have received just ¤40,000 in compensation payments from the government to date.

Even though ¤13.5m in relief was given to Dubliners in Ringsend and East Wall in 2002 after their homes flooded, only a fraction of this sum has been paid to households in affected areas, including Newcastle West in Co Limerick and Carlow.

Although further applications are expected, the average awards are much smaller than those in 2002. In the earlier incident, homeowners received an average payment of ¤10,377. This time the average is just several hundred euros.

The government has been criticised by opposition TDs for not setting up a dedicated fund similar to one established when the River Dodder broke its banks in 2002, weeks before a general election. This summer the government has received applications from 15 households in Newcastle West, paying out a total of ¤8,000. It has paid out ¤15,000 to 20 homes in Finglas and ¤6,000 to 20 applicants for assistance in North Strand in Dublin.

Patrick O’Donovan, a Fine Gael councillor from Newcastle West, said residents felt let down. “Bertie Ahern’s constituency was looked after in 2002 when he was photographed wading through the water but we are being abandoned. The floods here were unprecedented, a complete freak, so we’re more deserving . . . as so many were underinsured,” he said.

O’Donovan said the government could divert some of the ¤350m set aside for flood relief works to tackle the situation. “We need the capital expenditure but we also need immediate relief — this is an emergency,” he said.

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