"We are ready to act fast" is the message from the Irish Red Cross, as it administers grants to businesses and organisations hit by Storm Chandra, which are unable to secure flood insurance.
On Friday, the Government increased grants to small businesses from €20,000 to €100,000.
In a new approach, hundreds of Red Cross volunteers have been knocking on doors in Wexford, Kilkenny and Carlow alerting people impacted by flooding to their entitlements.
Hundreds of businesses and residents in Dublin, Carlow, Kilkenny and Wexford were hit by flooding as a result of the heavy rain brought by Storm Chandra.
Between 100 and 120 hours of work was volunteered by Irish Red Cross members yesterday providing assistance to those impacted by floods.
In Enniscorthy volunteers with the IRC knocked on doors on Island Road where shops and businesses had been flooded after the River Slaney burst its banks.
Many premises had sodden sand bags on the doors and were closed for business.
Glenda Fortune, owner of BurgerMac's on Abbey Quay, said her business had flooded twice this week.
She has not been able to buy insurance for her restaurant since 2000 due to flooding that occurred in that year.
Although the business has been flooded several times since then Ms fortune said the flooding this week is the worst she's seen.
"Our equipment floated, swam. Stand up fridges and freezers, you can see we just lifted them all back up they were all on their side. One got impaled by another piece of equipment"
Ms Fortune said if she did not get the assistance from the scheme they would have considered not reopening .
Ronan Furlong of Tyreworld Ltd Top Oil service station has already applied for the Flood Relief Scheme.
Floodwater came into his business up to around the four foot mark.
Mr Furlong's filling station side of the business isn't reopened yet but he said he got great local help to be able to resume the tyre shop part yesterday.
"I've got offers for help from all over the country," he said.
"People wanted to come in and support us yesterday when they saw us open," he added, "Enniscorthy people are like that."
A homeowner on Island Road, who did not want to give his name, said that his elderly mother lived in the flooded house.
She is currently living with him in another part of the county while her dogs have had to go into kennels while they clean out the house. Because the house has flooded before, they had no insurance.
Slime and sludge on roads and footpaths were being cleared by volunteers with Enniscorthy Tidy Town.
Chair of Enniscorthy Tidy Town Johnno Hughes said he had about 30 volunteers out today cleaning up.
Their Tidy Town shed was flooded, and Mr Hughes said he was unaware this could be covered under the Flood Relief scheme, except that a Red Cross volunteer told him.
Door-to-door volunteers
There have been approximately 40 Red Cross volunteers covering door-to-door visits and phone lines since Wednesday.
Around 200 in-person visits have focused on Enniscorthy, south Dublin and Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny, Carlow and Waterford.
The charity has also said it is able to support people who do no speak English as their first language.
The IRC is administering the Emergency Humanitarian Flooding Scheme for small businesses, community, voluntary and sporting bodies on behalf of the Government.
The scheme provides a contribution towards the costs of returning a business premises to its pre-flood condition. This can include replacing flooring, fixtures and fittings, and damaged stock if relevant.
The first-stage payment is up to €5,000.
Meanwhile, Irish Red Cross ambulances have been active, especially in the east and southeast, in support of the National Ambulance Service due to extra service demands of a bank holiday weekend and the aftermart of Storm Chandra.
National Director of Community Support with the IRC Aiden Lonergan said the aim of the door-to-door visits is to make sure that people have their basic needs met in terms of heating, water and electricity.
They also send the information they get back to the local and national authorities.
The IRC helpline, set up on Friday, is designed to provide people with a supportive "listening ear" and make them aware of other Government or local authority support services.
It is not an emergency line. The helpline will be operated by a mix of trained Irish Red Cross volunteers and staff between 9am and 6pm over the bank holiday weekend and can be contacted on (01) 642 4648.
