The shadow Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn has criticised the level of support for victims of recent flooding in the region.
Work continued across the weekend in Downpatrick to pump the floodwater out of the town.
He said Mr Heaton-Harris responded yesterday, and said he is"working with the Northern Ireland Civil Service to see what can be done a quickly as possible to deal with the impacts of the floods"."This is a crisis, people are in trouble, they need help. It's very simple, and not having an Executive in Northern Ireland doesn't help because it's at times like this you really need your government.
"It doesn't have a big pot of money sitting there ready to be handed over, that's why I'm going to be at Westminster talking to the people who can deliver that additional support over and above the rates relief scheme and the £1,000 for householders affected by flooding," he told the BBC. "There no way to sugar-coat the depth of feeling here among local business community who are now wondering about how they're going to pick up the pieces and actually rebuild their businesses.
"I have called on the British government to step in, for Chris Heaton-Harris to step in immediately and provide the finances for a package to support businesses."Business owners in Downpatrick described the devastation caused by recent flooding as"soul-destroying" as they were finally able to enter their premises.
He said it was"soul-destroying" to see the damage the water had caused when he was able to go in yesterday for the first time since the flooding. Mr Kearney said substantial financial support will need to be given to businesses in the town to enable them to reopen. "The majority of businesses in Downpatrick would all be independent traders and they would be looking for that support," Mr Kearney said.
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