Around 16,000 homes, farms and businesses that are customers of the ESB are without power this morning in the wake of Storm Ashley.

The storm battered the country yesterday (Sunday, October 20), with several counties on the west coast bearing the brunt of the winds.

The areas that are primarily impacted by power outages as of this morning (Monday, October 21) are Galway, Mayo and Kerry, particularly the Dingle area.

There are some other pockets of outages around the country, and repair crews are mobilising this morning in impacted areas to recommence restoration work, the ESB said.

Meanwhile, Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys has said that financial support is available to homeowners whose property has been damaged as a result of Storm Ashley.

The minister confirmed that the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is available to provide support to those living in properties directly affected by the storm, following the severe weather conditions.

The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme provides income-tested financial support to people whose homes are damaged from severe weather events and who are unable to meet costs for essential needs, household items and structural repair.

The minister said she recently secured an additional €3 million in funding for the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, and also recently increased the income limits for the scheme.

The changes to the income limits under the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme are:

€30,000 to €50,000 for a single person;
€50,000 to €90,000 for a couple;
€10,000 to €15,000 per dependent child.

Homeowners who have experienced damage to their property and who may need to avail of the scheme are advised to contact the Community Welfare Service.

Levels of payment under the scheme depend on the relative severity of damage experienced and the household’s ability to meet these costs.

According to the Department for Rural and Community Development, the income test for the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is "more generous" than that applied under means tested social welfare payments in general.

The basic principle of the income test is that individuals and families with average levels of income will qualify for assistance, including non-social welfare recipients, the department said.

The scheme does not cover risks that are already covered by insurance policies or cover business or commercial losses.

In dealing with emergency events the department generally adopts a three-stage approach as follows:

Stage 1 provides emergency income support payments (food/clothing/personal items) in the immediate aftermath of the event;
Stage 2 involves the replacement of white goods (i.e. large appliances), basic furniture items and other essential household items;
Stage 3 is to identify what longer term financial support is required, including plastering, dry-lining, relaying of floors, electrical rewiring and painting.