28th January 2026
The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke will seek government approval to open the Emergency Humanitarian Flooding Scheme for impacted small businesses and community, voluntary and sports organisations that have suffered flood damage due to Storm Chandra.
The Irish Red Cross administers the Emergency Humanitarian Flooding Scheme on behalf of the department to provide much-needed, urgent support to small businesses and community, voluntary and sports organisations who through no fault of their own have been unable to obtain flood insurance.
Minister Burke said:
“I have been liaising with impacted businesses, the Irish Red Cross and the local authority sector since the onset of Storm Chandra. Once approval from government has been received through an incorporeal cabinet meeting, our scheme will be stood up and small businesses and community, voluntary and sports organisations will be able to apply for financial support in the coming days. We are moving fast so that funding can be provided to businesses as quickly as possible”.
The Emergency Humanitarian Flooding Scheme provides a contribution towards the costs of returning a business premises to its pre-flood condition. This can include replacing flooring, fixtures and fittings, and damaged stock if relevant. The scheme is specifically targeted to help small businesses of up to 20 employees (or wholetime equivalents), and community, voluntary and sports organisations, and has two payment stages:
- The first stage will provide a contribution of up to €5,000, depending on the scale of the damages incurred, with focus on getting funding to small businesses as quickly as possible.
- In the event that a premises has incurred significant damages above €5,000, businesses and community, voluntary and sports organisations may apply for additional financial support. In this case, a Building Assessment will be organised through the Irish Red Cross. The total level of support available for both stages is capped at €20,000.
Once opened, information and application forms for support will be available on the Irish Red Cross website at www.redcross.ie.
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