Hundreds of homes and businesses along the lower river Shannon are being warned of the possibility of further flooding over the coming days.
The National Emergency Co-Ordination Centre says rising water levels from Limerick city up as far as Athlone mean there is high risk of flooding.
Met Éireann has issued two national weather warnings for tomorrow.
A status yellow wind warning has been issued with south to southwest winds expected to reach average speeds greater than 45 km/h and up to 65 km/h. Gusts of up to 100 km/h are also possible.
A status Yellow rainfall warning for Connacht, Donegal, Clare and Kerry has also been issued with 20-35mm of additional rain is expected in these regions.
Very windy tmrw. Sunny spells in the E & SE but mostly cloudy with spells of heavy rain.Highs 10 to 13 in strong to gale force S winds.
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) December 8, 2015
Earlier, the Cabinet agreed a €5m fund for businesses who cannot get insurance or who are in flood-risk towns.
It is understood there will be an upper limit for funding and it will cover vouched expenses.
The exact details will be worked out by Minister for Agriculture and Defence Simon Coveney.A €10m humanitarian assistance fund is already in place for householders who have immediate needs.
Farmers who are affected are to be given flexibility for animal movements and inspections for a period.
Also, the Cabinet has agreed in principle to a proposal for a longer-term flood forecasting and warning service within Met Éireann.
The proposal, from Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly and Minister of State with Special Responsibility for the Office of Public Works Simon Harris, would require 15 staff being recruited to the service.
Eleven staff would go to Met Éireann and four to OPW.
The service, if approved by Cabinet, would cost over €2m.
Mr Coveney gave ministers an update from the office of emergency planning during the meeting.
In a statement confirming the Government allocation of funds, Mr Coveney said: "I welcome this recognition by Government of the impact of the floods on businesses.
"The impact in the peak Christmas period for businesses is particularly severe".
The fund is intended for businesses in towns recognised to be at flood risk by the OPW and which have been unable to get flood-risk insurance.
The detailed criteria will be finalised in the coming days.
Watch Air Corps footage of large swathes of land around Athlone submerged following floods https://t.co/QZRra2FfTJ
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 8, 2015
Earlier Mr Coveney said that officials from the Department of Social Protection have been going door to door to tell people in flood-affected areas about the financial supports available to them.
He said he understands that people are angry, frustrated and worried, particularly those in Bandon, over the delay in building flood defences.
But he said the process is now being accelerated and that the Government plans to spend more in the next five years on flood relief than has been spent in the past 25 years.
Mr Harris this morning said he would like to see the Red Cross have a role in distributing flood relief to businesses.
He said he imagined that the level of compensation is likely to be in the millions but as it is quite complex for the Government to subvent business and doing this through the charity might be the best mechanism.
He said it is important that the scheme is simple, and put in place quickly with as little red tape as possible.
Mr Harris said the worst of the weather may not be behind us and the Government is monitoring this very closely.
Powerful winter storm “Desmond” dropped record rainfall in NW England. Learn more: https://t.co/iVnSIOuXAf pic.twitter.com/0cb996SVdf
— NASA (@NASA) December 8, 2015
A spokesperson for Mardyke residents in Cork city earlier called for the scheme to be streamlined.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Barry Keane said the amount of information and documentation people need to provide and the process they have to go through means they do not get access to the funding until a number of months after their homes have been flooded.
He said a helpline should be set up to talk people through the process, adding that the Department of Social Protection needs to be more proactive in helping people.
Mr Keane added that the department should also consider, on a discretionary basis, making the funding available to small businesses.
"From our experience ... a lot of the people who are applying are elderly, a lot of them are single, widowed people, who've been hit with this deluge of water.
"They're cleaning out their houses, they've got the insurance company to deal with and then they're asked for all these documents.
"I firmly believe if somebody is applying to this scheme there should be a helpline available where people can ring up and somebody takes them through the process."
Bus Transfers in place between Gort & Athenry due to flooding
— Iarnród Éireann (@IrishRail) December 8, 2015
The National Emergency Co-Ordination Centre has said that the level of flooding has reduced in a number of areas but the risk in other places remains high.
Water levels along the River Shannon are still rising in all areas except Lough Allen and are expected to continue to rise and this is putting areas from Limerick city up as far as Athlone at risk of flooding.
Spring tides that are expected to be a half a metre higher than usual this weekend are also a cause for concern in Limerick.
The ESB increased its flow in the Parteen Weir this morning, and that has put some areas in the vicinity at risk including Springfield and Cloonlara in Clare and Castleconnell and Montpelier in Limerick
Evelyn Cusack of Met Éireann said 10-15mm of rain is expected to fall today and that conditions will remain mixed for the rest of this week and early next week.
Helen Faughnan of the Department of Social Protection said that people who suffered losses as a result of flooding should contact their local community welfare service for financial assistance.
She said this service is open to all and not those in receipt of social welfare and that contrary to reports applying is not a complicated process.
She said local officers are calling to the homes of some of those affected to offer assistance in this process.
Gerry Galvin of Irish Water said there were two water treatment facilities affected by the flooding; in Ballinasloe, Co Galway and Bundoran, Co Donegal.
Jim Casey of the OPW advised people to consult their flooding advice leaflets about how to deal with flood waters.
The Nat Emergency Coordination Ctte: flooding reduced in some places but others esp along R.Shannon at risk@rtenews pic.twitter.com/v1VYdoexP1
— Samantha Libreri (@SamanthaLibreri) December 8, 2015
Efforts have been continuing in the west to safeguard homes and businesses from flooding.
In south county Galway, locals are concerned that the heavy rain of recent days could lead to a repeat of the devastation that was seen across the area six years ago.
Some householders are already experiencing difficulties as a result of rising water levels.
