NI Executive pledges £17.4million to deal with damage caused by Storm Éowyn

The Executive agreed on Thursday (February 6) to funding allocations of £19.4 million with, £17.4 million being provided for support in the aftermath of last month’s severe storm.

The remaining £2 million has been allocated to the Department for the Economy for unavoidable pressures in their statutory skills programme, which have arisen due to higher than anticipated demand.

Finance Minister John O’Dowd said: “Storm Éowyn caused widespread disruption to individuals, businesses, communities and to public services with damage to our schools, hospital estate and critical infrastructure including the road network and water supply.

“I want to pay tribute to our front line staff and emergency services who worked together with partner agencies in the most challenging of circumstances to keep us safe, support the most vulnerable in our communities, clear roads and restore power.

“The recovery operation will take time, with assessments still ongoing the true cost of the storm has yet to be fully quantified. Given the unprecedented scale of the Storm Éowyn, I was determined to ensure this additional Westminster funding was allocated quickly to departments to help them respond to its impact."

The funding allocations for Storm Éowyn are as follows:

- Department for Infrastructure: £8 million for range of pressures arising due to Storm Éowyn.

- Department of Health: £4 million for repairs to the Health and Social Care and Public Safety Estate.

- Department of Education: £3 million for school building repairs.

- Department for Communities: £1.4 million for range of pressures including an emergency financial assistance scheme.

- Department of Justice: £1 million to meet costs for additional policing costs above normal policing by assisting other emergency service partners in the repair of damage to infrastructure.

The Minister added: “Given the unforeseen costs and exceptional challenges facing departments as they deal with the aftermath of the storm, the limited funding available had to be prioritised for this purpose.

“I appreciate the other financial pressures faced by Departments and am committed to working together with my Executive colleagues to address the challenges ahead.”