I do not know whether the Minister appreciates it but for thousands of people in constituencies like mine, January and February were the first times that they ever had reason to interact with his Department. The overwhelming response I am getting from those people who did so is that was a negative experience. That has nothing to do with the staff of the Department who I acknowledge were incredibly busy. It was to do with false promises. The Government told people in the heat of the storm, when they were out of power and enduring all sorts of challenges, that it would support them. That has been reneged on. Many people applied for the humanitarian assistance scheme on the basis of a commitment given by Government that they would be supported. As I said, that was reneged on. I have to take serious issue with the fact that the scheme has been refused to those people who cited what was the single greatest cost to them, which was the disregarding of frozen food or fresh food in their fridges. It is entirely disingenuous to say that those costs are not recoupable because they should normally be covered by home insurance, aside from the fact that some people just cannot afford home insurance. Any of us who do have a home insurance policy will quickly tell the Minister that on average there is an excess of €350. If people lose €350 worth of food from their freezer, and then with the resulting need to purchase food on a daily basis or to eat out because there is no power or water in their homes, the Minister is essentially saying tough luck.

Sentiment score: 0.16

That is what the Department is saying, whether I am saying it or not. That is what happened to tens of thousands who received letters of refusal. A lot of people were incredibly taken aback. This is designed as a hardship alleviation scheme rather than a compensation scheme. That language has been used by the Minister. Why then are so many people being forced to go through the rigmarole of providing receipts and documentary evidence to get what turns out in most cases to be a very small payment? He has got this wrong. I appeal to him to ensure these people receive a payment and some acknowledgement for the hardship they have gone through.

Sentiment score: -0.16