Many businesses in Portadown, Newry, and Downpatrick were impacted by severe floods in late October and early November; some reported damages amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The Stormont Executive Office said that they may now request for assistance with the expense of refitting flooded properties to a fund that had been established.

“We want to provide support that will help businesses to re-open and resume trading or remain open and continue trading and to help secure the economic future of the town centres affected by the flooding,” said a spokeswoman.

A portion of the £15 million (€17 million) that Northern Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said will be made available to companies goes towards this fund.

The amount of help will be determined by the true cost of repairing or replacing damaged structures and equipment.

Businesses need to meet certain requirements in order insurance and: they need to have been operating in the same town centre on the day of the flood, have not been able to secure flood insurance or have been denied a payout on their flood insurance, and be open and operating at that time.

District councils will disburse the funds on behalf of the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

The impacted businesses have already been informed that they qualify for rates reduction and have received an emergency payment of £7,500 (€8,600).

With the announcement of the repair fund, businesses impacted in Northern Ireland will get the same level of help as those in the Republic following the recent floods in areas like Cork, Kerry, and Waterford.

It had been criticised that creating a comparable programme would take time and that comparable services were not readily available in Northern Ireland.