A MEETING between the Irish Red Cross, Donegal County Council, the HSE, the Department of Social Welfare, and local community organisations is expected to take place in the coming days to decide how funds raised in the aftermath of the Creeslough tragedy will be distributed.
Speaking to the Donegal News yesterday Liam O’Dwyer, Secretary General of the Irish Red Cross said the distribution of emergency funding has already begun and their volunteers on the ground have met relatives impacted by the tragedy.
The organisation will now move to a consultation phase where they will meet with relevant statutory agencies, local bodies and the relatives to discuss the short and medium term distribution of the funds.
“There has been a huge response. The last I checked the fund was €1.1 million and we anticipate there will be a lot of additional money coming in particularly from companies,” said Mr O’Dwyer.
“We are in the process of setting up a meeting with the relevant statutory authorities such as the HSE, the Council, the Social Welfare and local community organisations. We want to meet to talk through what the best approach is. We want to do this by Friday.”
The aim is to get a sense of what other organisations and community groups are doing to ensure the best use of the fund.
Red Cross volunteers on the ground have found that access to travel and accommodation are some of the key issues facing the community.
There have been instances where people are looking for accommodation in the area so they can spend time with relatives, particularly those that have been injured.
Others have lost their accommodation or have lost their job and require temporary assistance.
The support on the ground is being led by Ray Mackey who is a well known Red Cross volunteer in the county.
The Creeslough Community Support Fund was established by the Irish Red Cross in collaboration with An Post and Applegreen to provide rapid and long-term assistance to the Creeslough community.
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