Stormont departments allocated over £17 million for Storm Éowyn support

Northern Ireland government departments have received additional funding to help support the clean-up operation following Storm Éowyn.

Finance Minister John O’Dowd announced the allocation of £17.4 million to departments on Thursday. The additional money was provided by the UK Treasury through the Westminster Supplementary Estimates process.

The majority of the money has been allocated to the Department for Infrastructure. £8 million will go to helping the department repair damage caused by the storm.

The full allocations are:

• 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 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 storm caused widespread disruption, damaging electricity infrastructure and leaving much of the country without power.

“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.

“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.”

– Finance Minister John O’Dowd