Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has announced that up to £15m will be available to flood victims in Northern Ireland. The funds will be reallocated from existing funding. The announcement comes after last week’s heavy downpours, which caused significant damage to properties and businesses across the region. Newry, Mourne and Down District Chamber of Commerce estimated that around £37m would be required to recover from the damage.
Mr. Heaton-Harris made the announcement during a visit to Newry, one of the worst-affected areas. Businesses and homes received significant damage, with the repair bill expected to be substantial. Julie Gibbons, President of Newry Chamber of Commerce, says, while it is a start, more help is necessary. The new funding would provide some confidence to those worst impacted and help them return to trading.
While Mr. Heaton-Harris welcomed the speed and access of funding, Eamonn Connolly, Director of Newry Business Improvement District, explained that the funding was not enough and that businesses were in survival mode, with losses up to £1m. The Newry Chamber of Commerce initially requested £40m across the council district; however, even this does not fully account for the extent of damages.
Although local representatives and businesses plan on pushing for more assistance, Gibbons said she hoped the funding would be quickly made available. The £15m in funding will go a long way in assisting with clean-up costs and supporting businesses to resume trading.
Heaton-Harris added that the UK government would make the money available in the absence of an executive. He was critical of the fact that the non-functioning Stormont Executive delayed financial support coming to flood-hit businesses and homes. The £15m funds are being made available by switching capital-to-resource from Stormont’s infrastructure budget into everyday spending
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