Response to Storm Éowyn: Motion [Private Members]

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

- commends the voluntary and community efforts of everyone who stepped up to assist individuals, families, communities, businesses, sporting groups and voluntary organisations following the havoc caused by Storm Éowyn;

- recognises the vital communication role played by local, community and regional radio stations;

- recognises the outstanding workers from local authorities, the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), Úisce Éireann and phone companies who have been out day and night in miserable and dangerous conditions to restore essential services;

- applauds the communities that have stood together, amid the most difficult circumstances, who rallied together by opening their homes, community facilities and ensured help was provided;

- acknowledges the difficulties businesses, community and sporting groups continue to face, including significant financial hardship and the prospect of permanent closure;

notes:

— the lack of an effective co-ordinated emergency plan to deal with the aftermath of Storm Éowyn;

— the delayed response of Government to quickly intervene, and the failure to provide any supports to local businesses, sports and community groups left devastated by the storm;

— the fact that many businesses, schools, and homes remained without power for unacceptable lengths of time;

— the failure of ESB Networks to forward plan by undertaking action to improve their response to unplanned power outages as has been repeatedly directed by the energy regulator since 2021;

— the record-breaking profits that electricity generating companies have made in recent years which they have been allowed to keep in full, combined with ESB's refusal to make appropriate use of their €898 million profit last year in response to this national crisis as well as their public comments that the costs of repairing the electricity network may be borne by customers through increased electricity bills; and

— Úisce Eireann's lack of forward planning that left key water infrastructure without back-up generation capacity in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn; and

calls on the Government to:

— provide an adequate level of Government funding to aid and assist businesses, community groups, voluntary organisations and sporting clubs that have been damaged by the storm;

— bring forward the reinstatement of a 9 per cent Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate for the hospitality sector;

— ensure that the ESB provide a goodwill payment to customers determined by the length of time they were without power, and that they suspend the Public Service Obligation levy and standing charges for those without power for that period; and

— expand the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme to include businesses, sporting clubs, voluntary organisations and community groups who have been impacted by the storm as it was after Storm Babet.

We are in the 19th day after Storm Éowyn and there are still households and businesses without electricity, telecommunications and without water. I thank all the fieldworkers and their families for their dedication in carrying out this exhausting work, day and night, over the past 19 days.

People who were already struggling with the cost of living and the cost of doing business are suffering financial losses that they just cannot sustain. I am not sure the Minister understands the hardship suffered by people who have paid the price for the failure of this Government and successive Governments to invest in the most vital infrastructure, namely, electricity, water and communications. People have paid the price for the lack of an effective co-ordinated emergency plan to deal with the aftermath of Storm Éowyn and the delayed Government intervention. They should, and must, be compensated. This abject failure of the Government must be put right. Government funding must be provided for businesses, sporting clubs, voluntary organisations and community groups that have been impacted by the storm, as it was after Storm Babet. Many of these voluntary organisations and community groups were already struggling to keep going. They are still struggling to keep going. There must be a review of core funding to these groups. They proved a vital lifeline in the aftermath of the storm. Businesses not only experienced structural damage, they incurred the loss of trade due to the temporary closures and not being able to operate fully because of not having phone lines and broadband. Those who are either not covered by insurance or the excess is such that they are unable to claim must be compensated. The 9% VAT rate for the hospitality sector must now be brought forward to be effective immediately.

Some post offices in County Mayo are still without broadband. They are running on a shoestring. Trying to make manual payments to ensure already vulnerable people have something in their pockets is taking its toll. What financial support is going to be given to these post offices to ensure their sustainability? Where is Eir? Where are the mobile phone companies? Have they been called into the Government offices to be told this is not good enough?

What people in rural Ireland are rightly asking is: “Who is in charge? Where is the Government? Where are the regulators? Where are those who made massive profits on the backs of ordinary people?" The failure of the ESB to ensure the resilience of the network must be put right for households by providing a goodwill payment to customers and by suspending the public service obligation, PSO, levy and the standing charges for those without power.

How did Uisce Éireann think it would be possible to ensure water supply without generators? Are businesses going to be asked to pay a standing charge for water when they had no supply for days? Maybe we should not be surprised, when businesses in beautiful seaside towns like Newport are forced to pay for water treatment, when there is no water treatment plant there. Who is in charge of people’s right to water?

I commend the role of local, community and regional radio stations both on the forewarnings of the status red alert and the aftermath of Storm Éowyn. I do not know where we would have been without them, in my case Midwest Radio, covering County Mayo and the wider region. The diaspora anxiously waited for news as to what was happening to their families and whether their families were safe. Presenters kept going throughout the night with updates, warnings and the outages. That was apart from the company they provided for people living alone, in fear of the worst storm ever. What is the Government going to do to acknowledge the vital role played by local, regional and community radio stations? Governments have paid lip service to these radio stations for more than 30 years. They have a public service remit. The Sound and Vision fund is not fit for the purpose we need them to serve. There must be multi-annual funding for news and current affairs. How can we justify giving €750 million to RTÉ and nothing for regional radio stations? The listenership figures reflect 63% for Midwest Radio in Mayo versus less than 20% coverage for our national broadcaster. This situation cannot be allowed to continue. I ask all TDs to address this inequity in the immediate future. I also acknowledge the role played by Castlebar Community Radio and other community radio stations.

In terms of business supports the Government has abdicated responsibility entirely. I have spoken to oyster farmers who have suffered losses in the hundreds of thousands of euro. They must be supported to restock and repair damaged equipment. Farm businesses are wholly depended on being productive to generate income. I have spoken regularly about the disgraceful ACRES system. We have to put a scheme in place for farmers.

Deputy Joanna Byrne

Storm Éowyn was forecast and was expected to be one of the most dangerous storms on record in Ireland, and it was. Warnings went out days in advance and, in turn, sports clubs and community sporting facilities of all sizes and statures throughout the country prepared as well as they could. Equipment was brought inside, anything that could be locked down ahead of the storm was locked down and secured. They all did what they were supposed to do.

The Government also knew what was coming. Ample warnings were given. Despite the best efforts of the clubs and facilities across the country, it was inevitable there would be damage, but the Government failed to prepare. No provision was made for sports clubs or community facilities in the fallout.

The storm hit in earnest on 24 January and to date the Government has done nothing to assist clubs affected, except to administer a drawn-out survey of the damage to be collated by Sport Ireland. I contacted the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media swiftly, within days of the storm, when catastrophic damage to facilities such as Longford Town’s stadium or the Connacht GAA air dome in County Mayo was surveyed and flagged. The response I received from the Minister on 31 January stated:

During previous extreme weather emergencies such as Storm Babet in autumn 2023, the Government introduced an emergency relief scheme for community, voluntary and sporting bodies, administered by the Red Cross. Whether such a model is followed this time will be a matter for discussion and decision by the Government.

One week later, at a time of dire straits for so many, on 6 February here on the floor of the House, the Minister made the same statement, stating it "will be a matter for discussion”. A week further on and despite all this discussion, no intervention has commenced and no work has been done to assist.

In fact, the Government's amendment to this motion, issued this afternoon, does not even mention sports or sports clubs. That is how much of a priority sport is to the Government side of this House. The Government failed its first test and the Ministers failed their first test. Their inaction is failing sports clubs and community facilities desperately seeking financial assistance to get back on their feet, back open and serving their members and wider communities.

Bishopsgate, home of League of Ireland club Longford Town, suffered significant damage during Storm Éowyn, with estimates of between €75,000 and €100,000 in damage to the club's grounds. In the very week the League of Ireland's new season commences, this club has had to close its north stand indefinitely. As well as additional costs of chartered engineers, health and safety assessments and a decrease in capacity leading to a loss of revenue, the damage has also forced the club to cancel one of its major annual fundraisers, the bank holiday car boot sale. That event brought in thousands for the club.

An Ceann Comhairle

I call Deputy O'Reilly.

Deputy Joanna Byrne

If I may, a Cheann Comhairle, I urge the Government to immediately and without delay expand the assistance scheme to recognise what sports clubs need. The fact sports clubs were not mentioned in the Government amendment is deplorable.

An Ceann Comhairle

You are into your colleague's time.

Deputy Joanna Byrne

Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I commend the men and women of the emergency services, ESB, Uisce Éireann crews and council staff, all of whom worked tirelessly to deal with the aftermath of the most recent storm. I say a special word of thanks to volunteers from the GAA and other sports clubs, community centres and men's and women's sheds and all sorts of groups who came together and worked hard to set up community hubs and bring a small piece of relief to communities left devastated by the aftermath of the storm.

Thankfully, for most people impacted by any storm, the ordeal ends without too much delay; for some, however, it endures. For many, it endures for far too long. While neither the Government nor any State agency can predict the exact pathway and detail in advance, we know extreme weather events are the inevitable result of climate change. The Government cannot claim to have been surprised by an extreme weather event because it knows these weather events will occur.

Now we come to the Government's favourite part of every crisis - the lessons that have to be learned. We have heard it from its spokespersons again and again in the aftermath of any storm or extreme weather event. "Lessons will be learned", they say. Maybe someone can explain why the lessons learned from Storm Babet were not incorporated into the response to Storm Éowyn. The humanitarian assistance scheme should include businesses, sporting clubs and voluntary organisations, as well as community groups impacted by the storm.

I urge the Minister to support the motion and send an important message to those communities who feel they have been forgotten by the Government. People have been left for days and weeks with no connectivity, completely cut off, like Emma Ward, who I have spoken about previously. Emma needs power for her wheelchair. She said she had never felt so forgotten in all her life as while she waited and waited. She could not use her power wheelchair and could not get to college. It effectively meant she was cut off completely. She said to the Government directly that she had never felt so forgotten in all her life. The Minister well knows how young people with disabilities are treated by the Government and the State so he can imagine how Emma felt when she said she had never felt so forgotten in her life.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

Today, people in my constituency of Roscommon-Galway are on day 19 without electricity. In some cases, that means no heating in their homes and no water - for 19 days.

I take this opportunity, following on from the statements we made last week, to raise a number of continuing issues, particularly for businesses, farmers and customers affected by the power outages. There continues to be confusion about supports for businesses. I contacted the Minister for enterprise and his Department. The second point on the reply referred to the humanitarian assistance scheme. Then the section told me it was not providing supports to businesses. Now I have got a further reply from the Department of enterprise telling me and businesses about what insurance does. Of course, businesses are more than aware of that. The Department's reply goes on to tell me the programme for Government includes a commitment to an extreme weather event assistance scheme, that this will be looked at to be delivered within the timeframe of the current Government and that it is still to be fully worked through. This is of no benefit to, nor could I hand it to, any business in my constituency that is without supports. Something specific needs to be put in place for businesses and it should have been done a week and a half ago.

In relation to farmers, I rang the HAS phone line and was told sheds for farmers were covered. I made that information available to a number of farmers and then it became apparent they were not covered after all. This is what happens when the Dáil does not sit as it should sit. There is misinformation and confusion, and nobody knows what is what. Supports are needed that are still not in place 19 days later, which is not good enough. I heard from a farmer yesterday who spent €6,000 repairing a shed after the last storm and does not have €6,000 to put in again.

The insurance companies need to be taken to task by the Government and to be told that people who make a claim through no fault of their own should not have their premiums increased next year.

Last and most important, storms are storms and are not the fault of the ESB but the ESB has to take responsibility for the lack of resilience in the electricity infrastructure and for trees falling on power lines. It is its job and responsibility to secure its power lines. It failed to do that and it has caused devastation. The ESB needs to play its part, provide the goodwill payment and suspend the standing charges and PSO levy. That is the very least the CEO of the ESB should do. His attitude to date is really disappointing and has caused great anger among those affected.

Deputy Pa Daly

I pay tribute to the ESB workers who risked their lives not only after Storm Éowyn but also after the severe snow alert. Eighteen days later, power has not been restored for many. For others, the power returned only to go back out again. Although Storm Éowyn was severe, power cuts are not unique to this storm. Despite paying the highest electricity prices in Europe, many people are regularly left without power.

I received an email from someone in the Brosna area of County Kerry who said she can count at least ten power outages since 2 July 2024. Along with those, there were another six planned outages. She says it is critical the ESB provide a genuine explanation because there are financial implications. She had to throw away food that had been spoiled. They were cold and left without heating. Many of these letters came to my office. In the woman's area of Brosna, there have been at least 22 power cuts in the past year. Six were planned; the remainder were unplanned. Nineteen of them were unrelated to Storm Éowyn. This is the regular level of service constituents have, unfortunately, come to expect. They have told me they are forced to live off-grid at considerable expense. Many people, including me, were shocked by the comments from some people in the ESB, who said customers would have to pay for upgrades or repairs, warning that inevitable price increases would come on top of already extortionate bills. Is the ESB trying to pull a fast one?

For years the energy regulator has warned the ESB that, unless it got its act together, repeated and prolonged power outages were inevitable. In 2023, the CRU was highly critical of efforts to that point, stating the ESB was way behind targets and significant improvement was needed. Similarly, the Government’s 2019 sectoral adaptation plan warned of the dangers that lay ahead, highlighted the need for improvements to make the network more resilient and called specific attention to the risks of falling trees. Despite this, the Government and ESB have been asleep at the wheel. As a result, communities feel they have been left abandoned. Have they no regard for the havoc the outages wreak in people’s lives?

I had arranged for a meeting with the ESB in Brosna to address the power cuts but it was cancelled in anticipation of the storm. Fair enough, but people deserve answers. The ESB owes the people of Brosna and communities like it a full explanation of why their lives are repeatedly brought to a standstill. I ask the ESB to hold a meeting and to compensate customers for loss of service and costs incurred in finding back-up sources of power. Also, the PSO levy and standing charge must be suspended during power cuts. It is the least the Government can do.

Deputy Martin Kenny

The Minister will be aware that we have a large volume of forestry in County Leitrim. We probably have the highest amount of forestry in the country per head of population or for the land area. That brought huge devastation when the power lines that go through the forests came down. The main issue we have is that the trees are planted too close to the lines. It is as simple as that. ESB Networks has the job of protecting critical infrastructure and it has not done so. That has been the key failure of this entire saga. We saw it in the last storm and again in this one. There are hundreds of trees on top of the lines and hundreds of trees on top of those trees. It takes days and in this case it has taken weeks to fix. Thankfully, the vast majority of people have their power back now, but there has to be an emphasis on ensuring that there is a clear policy to protect those power lines and cut the trees back from them because when the next storm comes we will have the same problem again. That has to happen. The Government has to do that. There is no other way out of it.

The other issue I will raise relates to the humanitarian assistance scheme. Hundreds of people who have put in forms have contacted my office. They have not received any money yet and do not know where they stand. It is ad hoc and a complete mess of a scheme. There needs to be a revamp of that scheme to ensure it does what it is supposed to do. When someone has a freezer full of food and the food has all gone to waste, the scheme should pay for it. People have been told it will not pay for that. They have been told to contact their insurance. When they contact the insurance companies, some say they will cover it, but one woman told my office that the food would cost €800, but an additional €600 per year would go onto her insurance for the next three years because she would lose her no-claims bonus.

Issues also arise due to the excess on insurance policies that businesses in particular have. Businesses are trying to claim insurance for the loss of goods and damage. They find there is an excess on their policies which they have to try to work with. We need some kind of scheme to be put in place to ensure people can be adequately compensated. ESB Networks should be the first to compensate people. Any time power goes out for more than four or five days, every household should get a payment of €100 per day for every day the power is out. It would put a bit of a spark under them to ensure people were not without power for too long.

Businesses should certainly be getting compensated. I spoke to a businessperson last week who has a small business in rural Ireland that sells pre-cast concrete. It has not been able to do anything for almost three weeks and it will probably be even longer before it can get back to work. Small businesses, including restaurants and hotels, have suffered greatly because of the mess that is in place, mainly because ESB Networks has not protected its critical infrastructure, that is, the lines that go through forests. That needs to change, but we also need the Government to ensure people are adequately compensated and looked after in these circumstances.

Many old people and people with disabilities were hugely stressed because of the situation-----

An Ceann Comhairle

Thank you, Deputy Kenny. We will move now-----

Deputy Martin Kenny

-----that they could not get any power for weeks on end. We cannot see a repeat of this in the future.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy James Browne)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all the words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"commends the rapid response by local authorities, Electricity Supply Board (ESB) Networks, Uisce Éireann, Community Welfare Officers and others, following Storm Éowyn; and this response, supported by the Defence Forces, Government agencies, Civil Defence and the Voluntary Emergency Services, working with community volunteers, non-governmental organisations and community organisations, is an example of the collaborative approach we have in place to ensure a rapid response during such events;

acknowledges and appreciates the solidarity shown by our European Union neighbours in the activation of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism and subsequent donations of generators to provide additional power and resilience to assist restoration across key sectors;

extends sincere thanks to crews from Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom (UK), Austria, Finland, Germany, Scotland, France and Norway who came to the aid of our ESB crews to support the recovery effort, and to those ESB crews and skilled ESB retirees who deployed to the most impacted areas in response to the damage caused by Storm Éowyn;

commends all voluntary and community initiatives supporting individuals, families, communities and businesses through this exceptional and difficult time;

recognises the contribution of the media, both local and national, in providing effective safety messaging and information to the public prior to, during and after Storm Éowyn; and

notes that:

— Storm Éowyn was named, by the UK Met Office on Tuesday, 21st January, 2025, the fifth named storm of the 2024-2025 windstorm season; widespread Red and Orange weather warnings were issued across Ireland and the UK ahead of the rapidly strengthening storm; Ireland experienced gale/storm force winds, including severe damaging and destructive gusts of over 183 kilometres per hour, a record for Ireland; and this unprecedented storm caused extensive damage and destruction to critical infrastructure, communications and broadband infrastructure;

— an Emergency Management system, developed in accordance with the principles of good international Emergency Management practice, and which successfully co-ordinates a 'whole of Government' approach at both national and local level, has been developed and utilised in Ireland over the past decade;

— this Emergency Management system has been used successfully to manage several extreme weather events, including Ophelia on 16th October, 2017 and Snow/Storm Emma from 27th February to 4th March, 2018, in line with the Strategic Emergency Management Framework (2017) published by the Office of Emergency Planning in the Department of Defence and has fostered:

— co-ordinated leadership in the face of extreme and difficult conditions;

— rapid identification of key issues and the support necessary to ensure an effective response; and

— whole of Government co-ordination supporting all local authorities who lead in the response to severe weather events;

— the National Emergency Co-ordination Group was in session daily from when it was first convened on Wednesday, 22nd January, 2025 until Monday, 10th February, 2025, with a dedicated team from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Lead Government Department responsible for co-ordinating the response to severe weather events across the whole of Government, local authorities, agencies, utilities and the voluntary sector; the co-ordinating role is essential to ensure full situational awareness, effective communication, cross sectoral collaboration and prioritisation of resources as the response transitions to the restoration phase; and this co-ordinated approach to handling emergencies and their aftermath is activated frequently in response to Atlantic winter storms;

— in accordance with the established interdepartmental arrangements under the Strategic Emergency Management Framework, the final phase of recovery and restoration is being led by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications; and a cross-departmental recovery group has been established and it will continue to co-ordinate intensive efforts to restore power, telecommunications and broadband connectivity to those who continue to experience outages;

— specific energy-related actions have been prioritised to be delivered once the initial storm response has been completed:

— an enhanced Winter 2025 Grid Resilience Plan;

— a full review by ESB Networks and the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) of the planned grid enhancement and priorities within the next five-year price review process; and

— a final decision on the CRU's Strategic Workforce Plan 2025-2027 to be taken by end of the first quarter of 2025;

— the Government approved €4 billion investment in the onshore electricity grid for 2021-2025; a baseline investment of €10.1 billion for 2026-2030 has been sought by ESB Networks in the onshore grid, with scope to rise to €13.4 billion; a final decision on this is expected from the CRU in the third quarter of 2025; and this includes increased spending on asset management, underground cables and replacement of aging overhead lines and poles and ESB Networks plans to massively scale up its timber-cutting programme;

— Uisce Éireann is committed to protecting and future-proofing Ireland's water infrastructure; the impact of incidents such as Storm Éowyn are actively reviewed and lessons taken from them to ensure they can increase resilience; and as part of this review, Uisce Éireann will examine requirements for additional generators and alternative power solutions (solar, turbines and battery storage) and will continue to work with all the relevant Government Departments and State agencies to ensure enhanced levels of readiness for extreme weather events in future;

— the Government continues to support those individuals and families severely impacted, including through the Department of Social Protection's Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, and the Programme for Government 2025 - Securing Ireland's Future includes a commitment to develop an Extreme Weather Event Assistance Scheme for homes and community organisations, farmers and businesses which will be brought forward as a matter of priority;

— it is recognised that the challenges, the scale and severity of Storm Éowyn were unprecedented, with sustained hurricane force winds recorded along the western seaboard; and the Government's response was timely, given the circumstances, and every effort was made to minimise disruption to all those affected to the greatest degree possible; and

— as is the case with all severe storms, following the conclusion of the response, all aspects of the State's response will be fully reviewed, with a view to identifying the key lessons across all sectors and the implementation of recommendations; and this will include a continuing focus on planning for such events, business continuity management and building resilience and readiness across all sectors."

I welcome the Private Members' motion on the response to Storm Éowyn tabled by Sinn Féin, especially as it allows me to bring some clarity to the co-ordinated response led by my Department.

First, I will clarify the role the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which is the lead Department for the response to severe weather events. This means it is responsible for the co-ordination of the response to events such as Storm Éowyn across the Government, local authorities, agencies, utilities and the voluntary sector. The co-ordinating role is essential to ensure full situational awareness, effective communication, cross-sectoral collaboration and prioritisation of resources as the response transitions to the restoration phase. This co-ordinated approach to handling emergencies and their aftermath is activated frequently in response to Atlantic winter storms. It is recognised that Ireland experienced one of the most dangerous and destructive storms in living memory on Friday, 24 January 2025 when Storm Éowyn made landfall. Unprecedented damage was done by the storm, leaving approximately 768,000 homes, farms and businesses without power, with the knock-on impacts of 84,000 customers without access to water, a further 200,000 supplies at risk, a severely impacted transport system and the loss of connectivity and broadband for more than 1 million customers.

The Government recognises the hardship and distress that has been experienced by many families and the disruption caused to farms, businesses, schools, families and wider society as a result of the impacts of Storm Éowyn. I also take this opportunity to convey my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Kacper Dudek on their tragic loss.

As soon as it was possible to do so, local authorities working with the support of the other members of the National Emergency Co-ordination Group, NECG, sub-group on humanitarian assistance, led and co-ordinated a local level response to the needs of people who had been significantly affected by the storm. Emergency response hubs were activated to assist people with basic needs such as water, hot food, phone charging, broadband access and shower facilities, with approximately 380 hubs established at the peak of the response. Helplines were established for those in need of assistance which provided advice and direction to available supports, including the Department of Social Protection’s humanitarian assistance scheme. Support and equipment were provided to those most in need, where possible. Local authorities shared available resources and a central national database was established to support this work. Local authorities ensured that all appropriate local and national organisations were co-ordinated in responding to individual and community needs and, most important, the needs of the most vulnerable were prioritised.

The Government continues to support those severely affected, including individuals, families, communities, businesses and sports clubs through the Department of Social Protection’s humanitarian assistance scheme. The programme for Government includes a commitment to develop an extreme weather event assistance scheme for homes, community organisations, farmers and businesses. This will be brought forward as a matter of priority. Local authorities in affected areas continue to lead and co-ordinate a local level response to the needs of people who have been significantly affected by the storm.

It has been claimed that there was a lack of a co-ordinated plan for dealing with Storm Éowyn. I put on record that that was not the case. I convey my thanks and those of the Government to everyone who was involved in the preparation for, response to and recovery from Storm Éowyn. We are incredibly grateful for your dedication and skills and your willingness to leave your families and homes to work to restore power to the families and homes of others. Without you, it could not have been done.

An emergency management system developed in accordance with the principles of good international emergency management practice which successfully co-ordinates a whole-of-government approach at both national and local levels has been developed and utilised in Ireland in the past decade. This emergency management system has been used to successfully manage several extreme weather events, including Storm Ophelia on 16 October 2017 and snow and Storm Emma between 27 February and 4 March 2018, in line with the Strategic Emergency Management National Structures and Framework published by the office of emergency planning in the Department of Defence in 2017. It facilitates co-ordinated leadership in the face of extreme and difficult conditions; rapid identification of key issues and the support necessary to ensure an effective response; and whole-of-government co-ordination supporting all local authorities which lead the response to severe weather events.

Officials from the national directorate for fire and emergency management in my Department identified the potential for severe and destructive weather in advance of the naming of Storm Éowyn. They made advance contact with local authorities - the lead agencies in respect of severe weather - the ESB, EirGrid and Uisce Éireann on 22 January, giving them the opportunity to stand up their crisis management teams, activate response plans and have crews and equipment ready for immediate deployment as soon as it was safe. Furthermore, as part of the preparatory process in advance of Storm Éowyn, the NECG, the established Government platform for responding to national emergencies under the strategic emergency management framework, was also activated on the 22 January, and in this case it was chaired by my Department. It is mandatory that all Departments and key national agencies attend the NECG. NECG activation is notified through the office of emergency planning in the Department of Defence.

The NECG oversaw the intensive work across government to restore power, water, telecommunications and other services to homes, farms and businesses. A key focus was to find ways to support power restoration works that would make the most impact in restoring water, communications and other essential services. The NECG had one sub-group dedicated to preparatory decisions in the education and transport sectors and a further three sub-groups dedicated to co-ordinating the recovery phase. These were the NECG sub-group on power infrastructure, the NECG sub-group on communications infrastructure and the NECG sub-group on humanitarian assistance. Working together, all members of the NECG were in a position to make key decisions and co-ordinate efforts to facilitate the recovery. The NECG and its relevant sub-groups met every day from the date of its establishment on 22 January until Monday, 10 February with Government information systems issuing NECG press releases every day containing important public information.

The key priorities of the NECG remained, first, the restoration of power, water, telecommunications and other services to homes, farms and businesses and, second, the provision of humanitarian assistance to those worst affected by Storm Éowyn. Interdepartmental co-ordination, led by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, continues in respect of the full restoration of telecommunications and connectivity.

The task of maintaining power supply and water and telecommunications services - what is termed critical infrastructure on which society depends - falls to the critical infrastructure operators. These organisations are core partners in the emergency management sphere and attend the National Emergency Co-ordination Group along with their respective parent Departments, where their assessment of the threat as well as their situation reports on damage and restoration efforts are key points of information. Once the threat to life had passed from Storm Éowyn, all efforts of the NECG were focused on supporting ESB Networks and Uisce Éireann to restore power and water supplies.

There will be a lot to learn once we are all fully out of the response stage in respect of Storm Éowyn. The strategic emergency management framework overseen by the office of emergency planning in the Department of Defence will be reviewed through the Government task force on emergency planning. My Department will commission a detailed review of the response to Storm Éowyn. This will be submitted to the Government task force on emergency planning, highlighting key findings and making recommendations which will be agreed and assigned to all relevant sectors for rapid implementation. There will be a key focus on planning, business continuity management and further strengthening the resilience of our infrastructure and essential services.

Deputy Mairéad Farrell

Parts of Connemara had serious telecommunications issues in November, with certain areas without a phone signal for up to three weeks. Now, again, these exact same people are facing the exact same issues. Many have been told they will not get connectivity for another six weeks despite us running into the third week of the storm's aftermath. Some are being told by their private providers that they have absolutely no update for them. For those people who have never been impacted by this, it might not appear as serious an issue as it actually is. One woman who contacted me has a heart condition and needs to monitor and report to the hospital every single night. Without broadband, she is not able to do that and that could cause her really serious issues. Where is the prioritisation for our vulnerable customers? Where is the database for our vulnerable customers and what is being done about that?

The Minister claimed the needs of the most vulnerable were prioritised. They clearly have not been prioritised if there is a woman in that situation. They were not prioritised either for a woman I met on Saturday who spent 13 days without electricity and relies on an oxygen machine. Where is the prioritisation there?

The lack of broadband services also impacts on the services the post office can provide, particularly with regard to the banking services post offices usually provide. That means people cannot lodge money to meet their direct debits or mortgage payments. This banking service is a great service for people, particularly in more rural areas. What is being done to rectify that? There is also an issue regarding withdrawals and access to cash. These are older people who rely on access to cash and they just do not have it.

Businesses in rural areas, as the Minister will know, are far more than simply businesses. They provide a service that often the State does not provide and they also have a community aspect to them. A lot of them operated as hubs during this crisis, even though they did not have the official title of a "hub", with locals coming to them, especially when they did not have a phone service, just to find out what was going on. In the case of one of the businesses that contacted me, staff travelled across the country, to Kildare, to access a generator because the business is in a very rural area and without that business operating, there would be nothing in the village. Without broadband, the business was not able to use its pumps for petrol and diesel. If it cannot provide its services without broadband, people who have to travel a significant distance cannot access petrol and diesel. What in the name of God are they supposed to do? The businesses have said they fully understand that the initial need has to be with families but they are surprised at this stage that they have heard nothing. One small business told me it had lost €18,000, while another told me it had lost €15,000, yet they have not heard a whisper from Government as to what supports are available. I ask the Minister to speak to that.

With regard to public safety, across Connemara we still have telecommunications poles that are hanging and broken in half, trees that are holding up poles and loose cabling on the ground, which simply is not safe. In some places, this has been the case since Storm Darragh. We need to do better and people expect us to do better.

I will comment on one of the remarks the Minister made. He said it had been claimed that there was a lack of a co-ordinated plan for dealing with Storm Éowyn and that he wished to put on the record that this was not the case. Simply putting something on the record does not mean it was not the case. We had areas that could not access 999 emergency calls for over a week. We need to get to the bottom of that and make sure we can deal with it so that it does not happen again.

Deputy Ann Graves

As this is my first time to speak, I take the opportunity to thank my family for their ongoing support - my daughter Christine, sons Paul and David, grandson Noah, and Mary and Alana. I remember my husband, who passed away last year and who was my strongest supporter. I also thank the people in Dublin Fingal East who came out to vote for me and put their trust in me. I intend representing them to the best of my ability. Finally, I thank my republican family - the volunteers, comrades and friends who worked their socks off in all weathers. Míle buíochas.

When Storm Éowyn hit the country, we had 85 trees down across Fingal. Once the red weather warning was lifted, we had all the support services - Fingal County Council, Dublin Fire Brigade, the ESB and Uisce Éireann - out doing their job and trying to do a clear-up. However, the effects were felt for days afterwards in terms of power and connectivity. I heard from a mother who had a child depending on a hoist and a feeding tube. The power in their home in Swords was out for five days. Close by, an elderly man in his 90s who lives alone without supports was in the same situation, with no connection to the outside world. The most vulnerable people were hit the worst.

Many other people contacted me when they could not contact relatives and friends across the country. They were tempted to brave the elements and try to visit them because they could not get in touch by phone or any other means. A local hotel allowed residents in to use their facilities, showers etc., but those with mobility issues could not avail of that because, once again, the most vulnerable people were affected.

The Government needs to step up to protect the lives and well-being of people by putting in place preventative measures. Investment in capital infrastructure is an absolute must. Well before the storm, delivery of power had already failed. In my constituency, in Donabate for example, residents face regular loss of electricity through power outages. In fact, they had a power cut on Christmas Day.

Increased development without the necessary infrastructure and amenities as a prerequisite is a recipe for ongoing problems. With growing incidences of storms, we are looking at continued chaos in the aftermath unless there is real investment in capital infrastructure. Prevention is always better than cure.

We also need to look at a review of the tree management policies. I was out with residents in Malahide following the storm where a tree had come down on one side of their road and, luckily enough, landed on the far side of the road. They had flagged it as problematic with their local council based on the fact that the trees were too big for an estate. Nobody wants the removal of healthy trees unnecessarily but we need to protect power lines and people. That is a priority.

The ESB made €890 million in profit last year. It is shameful that people who have suffered would be expected to pay.

An Ceann Comhairle

I thank the Deputy. Her time is up.

Deputy Ann Graves

I will just add that investment has been lacking under successive Governments and we need it now.

An Ceann Comhairle

I thank the Deputy. If I may, before Deputy O'Hara speaks, I offer sincere sympathy to Deputy Graves on the loss of her partner. On her getting elected so soon afterwards, I say well done, it is fantastic.

Deputy Ann Graves

I thank the Ceann Comhairle.

Deputy Louis O'Hara

I am very conscious that today, on day 19, some people in my constituency remain without electricity. I do not think anybody can comprehend the difficulty of going without power for two and a half weeks unless they actually experience it themselves. It is desperately difficult for people who have faced extended periods without electricity and that needs to be recognised and compensated for by the State. Many in my constituency are absolutely furious, and rightly so, that they are receiving bills, including the PSO and standing charges, when they went without electricity for extended periods, in many cases up to two weeks or more.

It is unacceptable to charge people who are left without electricity and these charges must be suspended for the period for which people were without power. That is the bare minimum that people should expect. Furthermore, the Government must ensure that the ESB provides a goodwill payment to customers based on the length of time they were without power. The ESB made profits of €898 million last year. This is the very least that should be done to compensate those affected.

In that context, the suggestion by the ESB chief executive that the cost of repairing the electricity network may be borne by customers through increased bills is totally unacceptable. That should be made very clear by Government. In addition, ESB workers and all of those who responded to the storm, including Uisce Éireann, council and emergency service workers and so on, must be acknowledged.

The lack of clarity on the humanitarian assistance scheme and the low payments made so far has been very disappointing, given the additional costs that people faced. Information on the scheme and what is covered is only coming out in dribs and drabs and it is not fair on those affected who could be missing out on what they are entitled to.

I have been contacted by a number of businesses and clubs in my constituency which have lost tens of thousands of euro in stock or damage to their facilities. Insurance will not cover it all or, in some cases, any of it. We know how difficult it is for businesses, clubs, committee organisations at the moment, with increased costs and so on. Losses like these threaten their future. The responses I have received to parliamentary questions is that it is hoped that insurance will cover losses and the issue will be examined, but that is not good enough. These organisations desperately need support, and we need to recognise and provide for that. The same goes for farmers. Many farmers have had damage to sheds, machinery and so on. They cannot be forgotten. The Minister mentioned the extreme weather assistance scheme. We are 90 days on. It is time to wake up and bring forward a scheme for farmers, businesses and clubs.

Deputy George Lawlor

I am glad to speak in support of the motion. As members of Dáil Éireann, we stand here this evening not just as a voice for our businesses, farmers and communities, but as advocates for the great resilience and spirit that define our nation. It is essential that we learn lessons. In recent years, we have witnessed the devastating impact of severe weather events, such as floods, storms and snowstorms that have wreaked havoc on our agricultural community, local enterprises and community in general.

In recent weeks, and following other devastating weather events in Ireland, we have seen a trail of emotional devastation that often goes unnoticed amidst the physical destruction. The psychological impact on individuals and communities has been profound and would be long-lasting for those most severely affected. It will affect their mental health and overall well-being. In the immediate aftermath of these weather events, the last thing people who are affected need is the trauma and difficulty of dealing with applications that are complicated, with forms needing to be filled in and statutory agencies which seem to require more and more. This is especially true for those in our communities who are vulnerable, elderly or need an extra little bit of support.

The sudden loss of homes, possessions, property, equipment and livelihoods can lead to a huge sense of helplessness. We have already listened to people in isolated areas call out their feelings of helplessness and deep frustration as they navigate the chaos and uncertainty that follows such an event. Their emotional toll is compounded by the disruption of their social networks and community support systems. The extended loss of power, water and communication systems has left them with a sense of abandonment. This should never be the case in the Ireland that we all aspire to serve in.

We have also, sadly, seen a loss of life as a result of storm and its aftermath. We can only begin to imagine the dreadful impact that these tragic deaths have had on the families and communities affected. Our sympathies go to them all. These people and communities simply cannot be expected to deal with the trauma they are experiencing while at the same time possibly having to deal with red tape and bureaucracy as they attempt to rebuild physically and emotionally.

The elderly, vulnerable and those in need of specialist services and equipment cannot be expected to live or act normally without the immediately required State services and interventions. It behoves us to do better.

While my county escaped relatively unscathed in comparison to other areas, Wexford has seen devastating weather events over the years. Storm Emma, or the beast from the east, as it was called, created havoc when we were left without power and water for extended periods. Only for the heroic actions of our emergency services and local authority workers at that time, the impact and damage would have been much more sustained.

Christmas Day 2021 will live long in the memory of the people of Bridgetown and Duncormick as a result of the devastating flooding of homes. In late 2022, a tornado ripped through the villages of Foulksmills and Clongeen in south Wexford, causing hundreds of thousands of euro worth of damage to farms, in particular. I know from dealing with people affected at that time that the response in terms of aid was far from satisfactory, with people to this day still endeavouring to recover financially.

The people of Enniscorthy live in annual fear that the River Slaney will burst its banks and once again inundate Island Road and Templeshannon with floodwater, destroying homes and businesses for the want of a decades-long promised flood relief defence scheme. Wexford town has also seen serious flooding incidents over the years.

These events are not merely statistics. They are the stories of our neighbours, friends and families. They are the lifeblood of our economy and are in desperate need of our attention and, more important at this time, our actions.

It is clear that we must confront the stark reality. Our current response mechanisms to these crises are absolutely inadequate. Time and again, we have seen businesses and farms struggle to recover from the aftermath of extreme weather. They face not only the physical destruction of their properties, but also the emotional toll of uncertainty and despair. Our patchwork of ad hoc responses, while well-intentioned, is simply not enough. It is beyond time for us to establish a permanent statutory response mechanism that provides consistent and reliable support for those affected by these disasters.

One of the components of this motion calls for the expansion of the humanitarian assistance scheme to include businesses, sporting clubs, voluntary organisations and community groups which have been impacted by the storm, as happened after Storm Babet. We fully support this call. Given the nature of the climate change that is happening on a regular and much more frequent basis and, indeed, a much more severe basis, if our experience of Storm Éowyn is anything to go by, then the notion of an ad hoc or an incident-by-incident approach is not acceptable. Communities, businesses and our farmers simply cannot be expected to wait for a scheme approval on each occasion that they suffer the severe impacts we witnessed just a couple of weeks ago.

We need an active mechanism to be available to people when they are at their most vulnerable in order to allow them to get back onto their feet as quickly as possible. We need such a mechanism because, first and foremost, we must recognise that climate change is not a distant threat; rather, it is an absolute present reality. The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are increasing. Farmers, small local enterprises and communities are often on the front lines. They are the ones who face the brunt of these challenges and deserve more than temporary relief measures that come too late and often fall too short. Imagine a business owner who has invested years of hard work in building up their businesses and creating local employment, only to see their livelihood and that of their employees washed or blown away in a single storm. Imagine a small shop owner who, after a lifetime of dedication, finds their shop flooded, something which happened regularly in Enniscorthy, and their livelihoods threatened. A farmer may have borrowed money to improve their output and holding, only to see that destroyed. These scenarios are not hypothetical. They are the lived experiences of countless individuals over many years across Ireland.

We cannot afford to leave these people to fend for themselves in the wake of disaster. A permanent statutory response mechanism would provide a structured and predictable framework for support. It would ensure that assistance is not a matter of chance or bureaucratic delays, but rather a fundamental right for those who have suffered loss due to severe weather. This mechanism should encompass financial aid, technical support and resources for rebuilding and recovery. It should be designed with input from the very communities it serves, ensuring that the solutions we implement are tailored to the unique needs of those who have suffered. One size does not fit all.

This statutory mechanism must prioritise sustainability and resilience.

It is not enough to simply rebuild what was lost; we must invest in the future. By incorporating climate adaptation strategies and promoting sustainable practices, we can help our farmers, our businesses and our communities not only recover but also thrive in the face of the undoubted future challenges. This is not merely an act of charity; it is an investment in the backbone of our economy. Let us remember that our response to these crises reflects our values as a society. We are a nation that prides itself on community, solidarity and support for one another. When a neighbour suffers, we all suffer. Therefore, it is our collective responsibility to ensure that no one is left behind in the wake of disaster.

I urge the Minister to advocate, as a matter of urgency, for the establishment of a permanent Statutory response mechanism for businesses, farms and communities affected by these severe weather events. We can work together to create a system that is not only reactive but proactive; a system that embodies our commitment to resilience, sustainability and communities. Our farmers, our businesses and the communities to which I refer deserve nothing less.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

I congratulate the Minister and the Minister of State on their new roles. I look forward to working with them over the course of the next term.

Over the past couple of weeks, we repeatedly heard the word "unprecedented" being used. Storm Éowyn was unprecedented. To a certain degree, we could never have prepared for a weather event of that extent. However, we could have prepared a whole lot better than we did. While the impact of the storm was unprecedented, it was not unforeseen. We have been repeatedly warned by all the different agencies and climate change experts that our weather events are going to become more extreme, that this is essentially a feature of the climate change that we have seen and that this will continue to be the case. I talked about the programme for Government earlier on in the context of climate issues. While I was engaged in research relating to that matter, I came across a modelling report from the EPA. This is the first time there has been specific modelling for Ireland in relation to the impacts of climate change on our country going forward towards the middle of the century. We are looking at a 1.1°C to 1.5°C increase in temperatures, primarily on the east coast. There is the potential for heatwaves and much more intense weather events similar to Storm Éowyn.

It is clear we are moving that way but also that we have already moved that way. This is now our reality. The first thing the Government needs to do is make sure that all those people who need support, including financial and advisory support, have it. I refer here to all those individuals who really felt left behind over the past two weeks. That is the immediate response we need from Government. We also need to see a plan put in place in case this ever happens again. The reality is that something of this nature will probably happen.

The Government did not have a plan, which I find quite astounding. There is an emergency framework plan for flooding. There are also plans for nuclear disasters and rail disasters. However, there is no plan for storms. I was surprised when I discovered that to be the case. The absence of a plan was clearly illustrated by the response to this storm. There was a chaotic feel to how the storm was dealt with. There was delay on the Government side. The ESB was responsible for doing the heavy lifting and-----

Deputy James Browne

We have a plan.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

What is it called?

Deputy James Browne

A Framework for Major Emergency Management: a Guide to Severe Weather Emergencies.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

That covers flooding. Does the framework deal with storms?

Deputy James Browne

It is for severe weather emergencies.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

It is not on the website that has the emergency framework. That document refers to storms in the context of different analyses and stories relating to Storm Ophelia. Background information is provided, but it is not listed there. There is a framework for flooding and others for maritime, rail and nuclear emergencies, but there is none for storms. The document was only updated in 2024. Maybe the Government has it, but it is not on the website where all the other ones are listed.

I am delighted that the Government has a plan. Why did it not follow it?

Deputy James Browne

We did.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

How was it that one week after the storm, emergency hubs were only being set up? The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, was on the radio and said that there had been far too long a delay in getting everything set up. It is clear that there were problems with doing so. The one thing people from the west and the north west who rang radio stations consistently stated was that they felt abandoned and that no one was looking out for them. They were not getting direct contact from the Government.

The ESB did an amazing job. It had thousands of people out in the worst weather - the type of weather that we would never consider going out in - and working in its call centres. The ESB did a really good job on this but it should not have been left to do it by itself. There should have been a whole-of-government approach.

Deputy James Browne

There was.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

I was on RTÉ radio at the weekend and I heard about the case of a young woman who has a dialysis machine and who was left at home. She had to make her own arrangements to get somewhere in order that she could access electricity to run her machine. We need the HSE and GPs to be involved. GPs indicated that they were not contacted. It is clear that there are major gaps. While the Minister may say that the Government has a plan, either it was not followed or it was not sufficient to deal with the disaster that unfolded. Significant work must be done to resolve matters.

Given that so many people felt both left behind and not listened to and because there are so many people who have their own experiences and who can, from their perspective, highlight the gap in the response, what we need to do is have a really good engagement with people. A good way of doing this would be to have a special Oireachtas committee. I am not sure if that is something the Minister would consider. It would be a really useful exercise because we could engage with communities, stakeholders and the public and ask them what they would like to see happen next time and what would have helped them on this occasion. We could bring in all the agencies and ask what did they did and what they could have done better. That is the kind of rigorous analysis we need. I ask that the Government consider what I am proposing. It would be a useful exercise.

Just before the Minister of State for heritage contributes, I want to comment on the immediate response in the context of how we will deal with such an event in the future. In the context of adaptation, there was mention of potential flooding events. We need to start looking at nature-based solutions to deal with such events. Nature will tell us very quickly where we have gone wrong. We can try to engineer our way out of much of this stuff but that is just not going to work. We really need to focus on adaptation and on how we can actually work with nature to adapt better to these kind of events, particularly when it comes to issues like flooding. I will be talking to the Minister about this in the future. The Arterial Drainage Act - we obviously had a great deal of discussion about this on the climate committee - needs to be reformed. A focus should be placed on doing that. If we are talking about flood prevention and managing our land better, it is something we should certainly consider.

On farmers, we talk a lot about a fair transition and how we can assist different communities in making the changes we need them to make. However, we also need to talk about fair transition in the context of how we can support them when events like this happen and we see the significant impact of climate change on certain communities. When it comes to our agricultural community, particularly the horticulture sector, and the impact of this event, there is a real need to evoke the principle of fair transition and support those involved to deal with the aftermath.

I spoke to quite a few horticulturists who had major damage done to polytunnels and to glasshouses. Many of them cannot get insurance and many will struggle to get their crops out this year. That is a key area on which the Government needs to focus. The programme for Government, like the motion, refers to an extreme weather event assistance scheme. I welcome that scheme. It is an important initiative, but it will be designed as we move forward. I ask that the first pilot relating to that scheme be targeted at the horticulture sector.

Its members play such a huge part in our food security. They create thousands of jobs and add a lot of value to our economy but they are also a part of our agricultural sector that struggles. They live on very tight margins and I fear this storm may have been so catastrophic for some of them that they may find it very difficult to get past it. Will the Minister provide supports to them? That scheme is a good idea if he could get it up and running quickly and ensure they could be the first beneficiaries but, if not, some assistance must be given to them to enable them to get through this period. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this motion forward. It is a very important discussion we are having. We need to have more of these discussions to make sure that when the next event happens we are as prepared as possible to withstand it and that our communities are as supported as possible so that we do not see the kinds of impacts on people that we have seen over the past couple of weeks.

Deputy Aidan Farrelly

I thank colleagues in Sinn Féin for tabling this motion this evening. First, I wish to pay my respects to the family and friends of Kacper Dudek. I also keep in mind those who have been so significantly impacted by the damage caused by this storm. I also join the sentiments of others in praising the dedication on the ground, those working in our statutory and non-statutory agencies, who have worked so tirelessly for many weeks now. However, this evening I wish to talk about the concept of leadership and, more specifically, the role of community-based leadership in the face of adversities such as storms. While I accept the unprecedented nature of Storm Éowyn, we know there will be many more events that require a level of response that is efficient and all-encompassing. An Australian national expert on leading recovery for communities who have experienced trauma, Anne Leadbeater, has published a peer-reviewed paper highlighting the critical importance of locally-endorsed community leaders in complex post-disaster environments. This paper highlighted six themes when considering community-based recovery, namely, time, leadership, relationships, capacity, local knowledge, and communication. While we cannot blame the Government for this storm, what we can expect is leadership in the recovery. When Covid-19 hit, I was privileged to be a member of Kildare County Council on the community response forum. I did this on behalf of the councillors elected in Kildare. Reflecting on those themes I just mentioned, I saw this all in action at the time. We were efficient in our decision-making. Communities were empowered to take on leadership roles specifically regarding the identification and care of vulnerable people in our areas. The membership of the community response forum had its tentacles in every town and village in County Kildare. The membership represented the key services in our towns such as health, education, welfare, council executive, Kildare Public Participation Network, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and so many more. The sense of collegiality, purpose and support was beyond impressive. I am certain that what became the Kildare community response forum made a hugely positive impact on people's lives in their darkest days and it proved something to me. Communities have the capacity and the competency to play a crucial role in recovery events such as those after Storm Éowyn. Now is the time to consider their role a little further, specifically when it comes to the health and welfare of vulnerable people in our communities. I implore the Government to consider the role of community response fora for events such as this that could be stood up and stood down as required but could really focus on that health and welfare.

An Ceann Comhairle

We now move to the Independent and Parties Technical Group and Deputy Seamus Healy.

Deputy Seamus Healy

I will be sharing time with Deputy Catherine Connolly. I congratulate the Minister on his appointment and wish him well in his ministerial role. I am sure his dad with whom I served in this House for nearly 16 years is absolutely delighted to see his son elevated to ministerial ranks. As I say, I wish him well.

As everybody has done, we need to acknowledge and thank all those who were involved in dealing with the aftermath of this horrific storm. I mention county council staff, ESB staff, Civil Defence, Irish Water staff, fire brigade and ambulance services, mountain rescue teams, various committees including local committees, community organisations and centres, sport centres, GAA clubs, local shops and a whole host of individuals who helped out and showed real community spirit in the aftermath of what was a devastating storm. In south Tipperary, while we were obviously affected by the storm with a lot of trees down, electricity outages and road closures, we certainly we were not affected as badly as our colleagues in the west and the north west. However, we have a lot of experience of events like this. Coming as I do from the town of Clonmel, we are well aware of them. Every five years we had massive floods in the town where businesses and families in the Old Bridge and the quay areas of the town, in particular, were flooded for days on end and affected on an ongoing basis over the years. Thankfully, the new flood relief scheme has solved that problem but we are well aware how families, individuals, businesses and communities are affected by these type of events.

It has been said on numerous occasions that this was an unprecedented event, which of course it was, but that should not take from the fact that we should be in a position to react to and be prepared for these events and have a plan in place for dealing with their aftermath. Dr. Catherine Sweeney who is a GP in the west put it well when she said that if people have no water, no electricity or no communications and limited access to medical care, it is essentially a humanitarian crisis. That is what we were dealing with. Of course, from a medical point of view, that also meant that ill people, particularly elderly, frail and infirm people were in need of admission to hospital. Similarly, people who were in hospital and ready to come home were not in a position to be discharged because they could not be discharged home to a situation where they had no electricity, water, services or communications.

The State was clearly unprepared for the storm and its aftermath. It is totally unacceptable even today that there are still families and businesses without power so long after the storm. Certainly, we have to be in a position in future to ensure there is a quick and an effective response. A task force including all stakeholders must be set up and it must respond and report urgently. We need a statutory authority at national level to deal with the preparation for and the aftermath of events like Storm Éowyn. At local level, local authorities must play a central role in responding to these events. Local authorities know the local area, the local networks and the local individuals. They have a very good track record in consultation with communities and of dealing with families, individuals and locally elected representatives. They must have a key role in responding but to do that they need to be funded. They need to have additional specific, ring-fenced and multi-annual funding to deal with a situation like this.

We cannot have a situation where local authorities would be responsible for dealing with situations like this and looking over their shoulders regarding where the funding is going to come from to fund the clean-up. Local authorities must have a key role but they must be funded properly to do it. ESB staff, in particular, did Trojan work, but the electricity infrastructure is deficient and needs to be upgraded urgently. It has been said that the infrastructure cannot be undergrounded but there are areas where this could be done at a reasonable cost. That should be done. Certainly, into the future, it should be examined to see where cabling and infrastructure can be put underground. Many other areas obviously need to be dealt with. There is the whole question of trees, the waiver of felling licences, etc., but I will leave my contribution there.

Deputy Catherine Connolly

I welcome this opportunity to contribute. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward the motion in its Private Members' time because it allows me a little more time today than I had last week to go back on some of the topics. This is very important. The motion and, indeed, the amendment, in part, are good in that we have acknowledged all the good work on the ground. That has been set out clearly and this is very important. I also acknowledge the latest update we have as of today after 5 p.m, which was that ESB Networks said all the power will be back by tonight. That will be particularly welcome, if the company succeeds in doing that mar tagaim ó chathair na Gaillimhe agus bhí an chathair agus an chontae sin thíos ó thaobh na stoirme seo. Bhí sé buailte go dona. Bhí daoine gan cumhacht go dtí inniu agus seo an tríú seachtain tar éis na stoirme. In ainneoin na hoibrithe agus an méid oibre atá déanta ag na heagraíochtaí ar an talamh, tá sé soiléir domsa nach raibh plean ar bith i gceist i ndáiríre. Tá súil agam go mbeidh ciall ceannaithe againn anois as an méid atá foghlamtha againn an uair seo.

I have no interest in criticising people and we have set out how much work has been done on the ground. It is clear, however, that this Government and previous Governments have not learned from the fact that we have declared a climate emergency, a biodiversity emergency and that we have also had a pandemic we were ill-prepared for with our infrastructure on every level. What I would like to see arising out of this situation, therefore, is that we will learn. I briefly quoted from Annual Review 2024: Preparing for Ireland’s Changing Climate from the Climate Change Advisory Council last week. I will refer to it again because it is extremely important. This report makes observations, very helpfully identifies the gaps and makes recommendations. Following on from my colleague, Deputy Healy, one of the recommendations that jumps out is the inadequate resourcing of local authorities. I could mention many more. It is set out here in black and white for us and it has been set out every year. While this storm was unprecedented, we knew well that storms were going to come and get worse. As I understand it, there were 11 named storms alone in 2023. It was the warmest year on record, followed by 2024. We either make our words mean something in declaring a climate emergency or we might as well give up. This report, among many others, very helpfully points out as well the cost of not doing something. We are now looking at the cost of this. I have headlines here from the city council in Galway and €15 million is being spoken of to address some of the damage done. The city was badly affected but the county was much worse. That is a very conservative estimate and I understand that the council has also written to the Minister in this regard. We now have a local authority struggling full time in respect not having enough funding. That is the case with the city and the county councils. They regularly tell us that. Only two weeks ago, they told us they are the worst funded local authorities in the country. Now, they are struggling after the stomr and appealing to the Government.

On top of that, we have all the confusion that exists about the schemes. Like with Covid, the Government has done great work in helping, but there is total confusion as to who will benefit from that under the humanitarian assistance scheme or whether businesses will and so on. I read out some of the seven headings that a local doctor kindly put together to highlight what should have been done, the fact it was not done and that it should be done in the future. It is building on the resilience of communities themselves to be able to withstand a storm like this and even worse in the future. If we learned that, I would be happy. My experience in here and of other institutions, though, is that they do not learn. They have to be forced and forced and reactive and reactive. This report is telling us that we have to stop that and be proactive because not alone will the costs of dealing with the damage be extraordinary but also, more importantly, the costs of not dealing with it will be as well. Research has been done between the Climate Change Advisory Council and the ESRI into the economic costs of not dealing with climate change, in addition to the funding local authorities, being one of the gaps existing. They also highlighted the need for an urgent national coastal strategy. There is not a sign of it. A scoping exercise was undertaken but no national coastal strategy has been rolled out in respect of erosion and the sea level rising.

Another thing that has come up for me today, which is significant, in the area of wind energy and renewables is the plan to build extraordinarily high muilte gaoithe off the coast of Carna. The plan is to put more than 30 windmills seven times higher than the Eiffel Tower - and I stand to be corrected on that - has gone before An Bord Pleanála. No hard copy is available for the local people to examine. I say this as someone committed to renewable energy. We want people in the community to come on abroad with these endeavours and then we have such a big scheme as this going to An Bord Pleanála with no hard copy. I mention this in particular because I have a letter here about an existing wind turbine project that has been there for more than 20 years. During the storm, the wind turbine was knocked to the ground. The photos are quite dramatic. The nearest house was 300 m away, while the road was only 10 m away. This wind turbine project has been up and running for more than 20 years. These concerned residents have written to the Health and Safety Authority and anyone else they can to draw attention to the fact that there is no clarity at all concerning how long a wind turbine lasts, its life cycle, its recycling, the dangers involved and who monitors it. The other project I refer to is off the coast of Carna. To say it is off the coast is misleading because it is very near to the coast and the highest winds during this storm of 184 km/h were recorded there. The figures are all set out. In using this time that Sinn Féin has provided, my hope is that we would keep the pressure on to get proactive plans in place in relation to making our communities resilient and have a plan that puts the vulnerable first. There was absolutely no indication of that. We have a communications system that is not fit for purpose where people could not even make emergency phone calls. We heard that from everybody, from the GPs on the ground to the ordinary people who could not have dialysis.

An Ceann Comhairle

We now move to the Independent Technical Group. I call Deputy Paul Lawless, who has five minutes.

Deputy Paul Lawless

It is still difficult to believe we are now almost three weeks into the aftermath of the storm and there are still people across the west who do not have power. While I do accept that the Government cannot control the weather, it can of course control, for example, forestry, protecting the ESB network and the distance between trees and the ESB and NBI network as well. It is of course the responsibility of the Government to take account of the slow and very sluggish response in the aftermath of the storm.

The truth is that Dublin did not take this storm seriously. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, the Taoiseach travelled from Cork to Newry to attend a sporting event, while the Tánaiste was busy tweeting about his shoes. The people of County Mayo and the west deserved a much greater and more urgent response following the storm.

I acknowledge the great work of the people on the ground employed by Mayo County Council and all the local authorities, Uisce Éireann and in particular the ESB who worked tirelessly. I met men across Mayo who came out of retirement to help their former colleagues in the ESB. I met crews from Wexford and various parts of the country who came to the west to support the crews on the ground in Mayo and the neighbouring counties. However, I was hugely disappointed that the CEO of the ESB stated that he believed it should be the responsibility of the customers - the Irish citizens - to foot the bill for the storm, despite the fact that they already pay one of the highest electricity charges in Europe. Perhaps Mr. Hayes does not realise that because of his very large salary of almost €400,000. That is the combined salary of the French President and the British Prime Minister.

SMEs are the lifeblood of the rural economy and the economy of this great country. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, said last week in this very Chamber that the scheme does not cover commercial, agricultural or business losses. There are no supports available to the commercial sector or the agricultural sector following the storm. Small and medium businesses are the lifeblood of Mayo and the west. They are the very people and business owners that employ our neighbours, support our local teams, pay taxes to this Government and, once again, they are left out in the cold.

The SME sector in this country is the one that suffers the most discrimination. There are no RTÉ-style bailouts, no golden handshakes, and no social protection net when they fall on hard times, just the expectation that they will get on with it - pay more taxes and deal with more regulation, etc. We are forcing these businesses down the insurance route at a time insurance premiums are already at an all-time high. Many businesses in the SME sector will not survive, not necessarily because of the storm but due to the lack of response and supports available to them following it.

We need an immediate response involving reimbursement of the families and households who have been significantly affected. We also need financial support for the SME sector. In addition, we need a response to the storm. We must cull the trees along the ESB and NBI networks. I propose a similar scheme to the local improvement scheme, LIS. Farmers are very familiar with the LIS. This would protect the NBI and ESB networks across the country.

I also propose the establishment of contingency contracts with farmers and agricultural contractors that would kick into action following storms and crisis situations. I was shocked to learn in recent weeks that some of the biggest and the best agricultural contractors in Mayo were not contacted. These people have some of the biggest and best machinery to deal with trees falling across roads and across power lines in forested areas.

An Ceann Comhairle

I thank the Deputy. I call Deputy O'Donoghue.

Deputy Paul Lawless

They were never contacted. They are just some of my ideas. I do not have time to discuss all of them.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy is taking from his colleague's time.

Deputy Paul Lawless

We hope the Minister will take them on board.

Deputy Richard O'Donoghue

A lot of the damage that was done in this storm was due to all the regulations that were put in place and, consequently, caused by the Government. We cannot cut trees. We cannot cut hedgerows. The Government has put a lot of red tape on Departments and local authorities must enforce it. That has caused an awful lot of damage. It resulted in power lines coming down all around this country, which put businesses out of business, left staff at home, and resulted in there being no food on the table and no heating in houses. That was all because of a regulation that started as Government policy.

We had people telling the Government for the past three years about the dangers associated with ash dieback and how it would affect this country but the Government ignored it. Now we have a storm that shows the Government the statistics across the country. Trees were the main problem that caused power outages. The Government brought in the regulation. People are still without power. People came in to help move livestock. Businesses had to let off their employees because they had no power, yet the ESB believes that people themselves are responsible for it. It is the Government that is responsible for it because of regulations it brought in on tree felling and hedge cutting. When a local authority comes out to resurface a road, it is only allowed to cut in 1 m from the road edge and to go only 2.4 m high. On a 4 m or 5 m hedgerow, that means we allow the hedge to grow into the middle of the road, which stops people getting a safe passage to work. It also stops people from walking the roads. Heavy goods vehicles have to drive in the middle of the road because of regulations brought in by the Government, which have caused a catastrophe after a storm. If anything comes out of this, it should be that the Government would put a fund together to cut all roadways 1 m in from the road edge and 3 m below any power line. The ESB guidelines say that there cannot be anything within 3 m to 4 m of high power lines because of the possible effects on connectivity in bad weather. However, the Government says that trees can go straight through the power lines, and when there is a storm that causes outages everywhere. The Government must set up a task force and ensure that every hedgerow is cut for the protection of human life. I am not against wildlife but I am in favour of people - and front-line staff across the board - having a safe passage to work, school and hospital.

I am also very disappointed with the Government that a red warning was not issued when we had the snowfall. Even though there was 3 ft. of snow, people were told that if they did not turn up for work they would have to take a day's holiday or lose their wages. That is what we are up against. If we learn anything, it is that all these hedgerows need to be cut to make sure we have not got the same problems again.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this matter. It is nearly three weeks since this bomb hit the west, the midlands and the north west. It is good to see people coming back but, my God, three weeks is a long time. Eamon Ryan's dream of air-to-water heat pumps turned into a nightmare for most people. They were perished in their houses. Thank God a lot of people had a chimney. We should go back and make sure that people are allowed chimneys in all counties because what some people endured was catastrophic.

I commend the ESB - the people on the ground, not the people up at the top. There is a lot of talk about infrastructure. I have gone around the whole place and our problem is trees. Corridors of trees in woodlands were on top of the wires. They were on roads and on cables, be they communications cables or ESB cables. That is what caused the problem everywhere and we have got to address it.

A lot of contractors helped. A lot of farmers will need hedge cutting and other such jobs to be done. For those people, the Minister must consider extending the period when such work can be done beyond the end of this month. We must learn from this experience. We can give out but we need to learn from it.

The Minister has group water schemes within the remit of his Department. He must arm them now for the future; likewise with design, build, operate, DBO, contracts. He must haul in Irish Water because it should be prepared for something like this happening again. That is in the Minister's gift and he needs to do it. Sadly, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Peter Burke, seems to have disappeared. A budget must be put in place for small businesses and also for the likes of crèches and other such places.

There is not one word out of anyone as to how we are going to help small businesses. They have been closed and they need to have a back-up. We need to make sure we do that.

While I welcome that the Minister has not been on his new phone all the time, there is one thing I will ask of him. We need to look straightaway to see what we can do for local communities in reinforcement, be it through small generators or a grant towards them, especially for those who have underlying problems and for community hubs to make sure they are armed. On the humanitarian side, and I know the Minister is familiar with this, it seems to just concern the house in one form such as a fridge getting into trouble or maybe damage at the house. Outside of that, however, we have turf. There is another issue that some Minister needs to address, namely, the targeted agriculture modernisation schemes, TAMS. While I welcome the Minister, Deputy Heydon's announcement on the generators, TAMS are not going to work for sheds that have lost their roofs because the roof is off the shed now and there are cows calving and weanlings are in the sheds. What farmers want are purlins and sheets to galvanise, to put it simply. We do not need to build a full new shed, put in our name and have someone three months later tell us we can do it and then go down the road of getting a 40% grant. We need a hard money-type fund this minute. I ask the Minister to talk to the other Ministers about this because this needs to be done. This is not complicated stuff; it is galvanised sheets and purlins. That is the big thing that has been taken away. Those farmers need help in that.

We need legislation shortly and I ask the Minister to ensure that in whatever legislation there is, there will not be some do-gooder saying that these trees are too close to the wires. I ask for that to be addressed. I am saying - and I am the first to say it - that we would sow two down the field but do not let anyone come along in a suit telling someone he or she cannot cut this after spending three weeks without electricity. This has to stop. The madness going on right across the country has to stop.

A lot of people hired petrol generators and had to pay extra for food when trying to get food in places. While I know there was some laid on, I ask him to look at that for those people because we need to learn from every little piece of what went wrong to try to rectify it.

In the line of the ESB, yes, investment needs to be done. Poles are broken in places but they had a damn good reason to break because it was big lumps of forestry trees that came down on them. Another thing that needs to be addressed, both in State and private forestry, is trees that came down on an adjacent farmer's field blowing the fences out of it. I ask the Government to look - it only has a week or two left - at the contractors who went in helping out right around the west and who had other work to do in the line of hedge cutting. I ask the Government to look at that.

I am saying very clearly to the Minister, in the context of rural Ireland, a lot of Ministers might not understand what went on but he is from the west and saw the destruction that happened. I am asking him on the line of the sheds that have been decimated - their roofs not their walls - that he please talk to someone to put a fund in place for that. TAMS will take too long. The summer will be landed and winter will be coming again and it will not be resolved. I ask the Minister to try to resolve that and the other issues I have mentioned here.

Minister for Rural and Community Development (Deputy Dara Calleary)

Gabhaim buíochas le gach Teachta as a gcuid óráidí inniu. I thank Deputies who have spoken for their engagement in recent weeks on direct cases. That engagement will continue.

We are now in the stage where we can look back at the storm and learn lessons from it. Many Deputies have put forward good suggestions this evening, which will be taken on board because, unfortunately, the precedent, as I said previously, has been set. These storms will be repeated. It is important the frameworks are still solid and I commend the rapid response by many local authorities, ESB Networks staff on the ground, Uisce Éireann and by staff in my own Department and the Department of Social Protection, and many response agencies. I thank many NGOs and community organisations and also our independent local radio sector, which broadcast live right across the country during the night of the storm, including my own station Midwest Radio.

We are now continuing to look at what needs to be done. There are still people to be reconnected to power tonight and we are particularly focusing on telecommunications and broadband connectivity for many who continue to experience either outages or poor service. The review is under way and I will take on many of the suggestions that have been made by Deputies across the Chamber in the context of that review.

The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy O'Brien, has met with representatives from the CRU, ESB and ESB Networks to discuss the impact of Storm Éowyn. Immediate actions to increase the resilience of the electricity grid system ahead of winter 2025 will be taken as well as the planned grid enhancements to the end of 2030. There will be a full review by ESB Networks and the CRU of the planned grid enhancement and priorities within the next five-year price review process to take account of the impact of Storm Éowyn. A final decision on the CRU's strategic workforce plan will be taken by the end of this quarter. The Government has previously approved a €4 billion investment in the onshore electricity grid for 2021 to 2025. A baseline investment of €10.1 billion for 2026 to 2030 has been sought by ESB Networks with scope for that to rise to €13.4 billion. A final decision is expected and this will include increased spending on asset management on underground cables and in particular on the replacement of ageing overhead lines and poles. ESB Networks will also massively scale up its timber cutting programme. Deputy Fitzmaurice and many others mentioned the need for timber corridors. All of that will be taken on board.

Uisce Éireann is also protecting and future-proofing Ireland's water infrastructure. Uisce Éireann needs to review the impact of Storm Éowyn and learn the lessons to ensure there is greater resilience within its network but also across the DBOs mentioned by Deputy Fitzmaurice and group water schemes. Uisce Éireann must examine the requirements for additional generators and alternative power solutions. We are asking it to continue to work with the relevant Departments to ensure enhanced levels of readiness for future extreme weather events.

In the Department of Social Protection, we continue to support individuals and families through the humanitarian assistance scheme. The programme for Government includes a commitment to develop an extreme weather event assistance scheme for community organisations, farmers and businesses. I say in reply to Deputy Fitzmaurice that this will be brought forward as a matter of priority.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

I thank the Minister.

Deputy Dara Calleary

I hear his concerns with regard to farming and small businesses in particular.

With regard to the humanitarian assistance scheme, to date, the community welfare service of the Department of Social Protection has issued more than 5,000 stage 1 payments, totalling almost €1 million, to people who at the time their application was approved did not have any power or water supply following Storm Éowyn. The community welfare service continues to be available to citizens who are experiencing extreme hardship as a consequence and it continues to work closely with local service directors in local authorities and with other organisations. Community welfare officers continue to be on the ground to support people. They are visiting people and supporting them through it.

My Department of Rural and Community Development has also provided a strong pipeline of investment in community infrastructure through schemes such as LEADER, CLÁR and the community centre investment fund. This investment was crucial and played an important part in having a network of emergency response hubs available for all communities. We already have a comprehensive range of capital investment schemes in place. Local authorities and communities can utilise these funding schemes to ensure continued investment that will enhance the resilience of rural communities. Included in this, I have asked my officials to examine the provision of local generators in communities across the country that can be used in circumstances like those of the past two weeks. As I said previously, the programme for Government commits to developing an extreme weather event assistance scheme and work on the development of this new scheme will commence as a matter of priority through the relevant senior officials group.

The estimated effect of Storm Éowyn on telecoms networks was the largest in ComReg's recorded history. A significant number of outages experienced on the telecoms networks were due to the lack of power to fixed and mobile infrastructure. While many key sites had battery back-up to maintain service, once battery capacity was exhausted, some network areas experienced severe outages. The deployment of generators meant that connectivity was maintained at core sites across the country. At peak, more than 281,000 fixed broadband customers were completely without services. Also at peak, more than 2 million, or 35%, of mobile customers experienced a degradation of service.

ComReg has monitored the situation and liaised with operators throughout Storm Éowyn and the repair operation and is receiving regular reports on the restoration of services. I have asked, along with the Minister, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, to meet the CEOs of all the communication companies next week to discuss their response. We will ensure that connectivity is restored. I have also asked the Chief Information Officer of the State to provide me with an update on the issues around the TETRA system and how that went down during the storm.

The office of emergency planning has established a critical infrastructure committee to oversee the EU critical infrastructure resilience directive. The office has engaged with regulators and established national competent authorities to reinforce compliance with these new regulations across the public sector, with an emphasis on integrated forward planning. This includes working with ESB Networks and Uisce Éireann to improve infrastructure resilience. This involves regular reviews and updates on those resilience measures and, in particular, aligning preventative measures and resilience measures across key sectors.

The oversight and regulatory bodies are working with organisations to address the shortcomings that have been exposed over the last two weeks and to ensure continued compliance with various directives. The support for this work will strengthened.

It also has to be recognised that the challenges of the scale and severity of Storm Éowyn were unprecedented. We had sustained hurricane force winds right across the western seaboard. This led to a major impact on many communities. The initial focus of the Government was on safety and the protection of life and critical infrastructure. The focus for the last number of weeks has been firmly on the restoration of power and services, providing assistance to those most impacted and the vulnerable, and getting back to normal operations. Now that this phase is beginning to pass, we will look to the future and a future response that is more resilient to the kind of precedent that has been set by Storm Éowyn. In that context, it has to be noted that the response was timely. Given the circumstances, every effort was made to protect life and minimise disruption. However, that is not to say that lessons do not need to be learned. They will be learned and I look forward to working with Members from across the House in doing so. The humanitarian assistance scheme is still open and I am available to engage with Deputies on it.

Deputy Johnny Guirke

I express my sincere gratitude to the staff of our local authorities and the hardworking staff of the ESB and the emergency services who gave so much during and after Storm Éowyn. Many of these people are still cleaning up after the storm. In Meath West, community hubs played a crucial role by providing support to many. They ensured that many people in Meath who were without power could charge their phones, work from the hub, shower and enjoy a warm building. This is why community centres and GAA clubs should be provided with generators should they be the ones without power in the future.

A woman with multiple sclerosis who lives not far from me relies on hoist to lift her in and out of bed. She could not access a community hub and she and her family had to depend on someone to lend her a generator to power the essentials for her, including charging her electric wheelchair and powering her hoist. Cases like this were not isolated ones. The Government needs to ensure that generators are on hand to distribute to those most in need, if and when needed.

People who invested in forestry had large areas flattened. What supports are in place for them? There should also be some kind of a fund for SMEs. One small IT business near me with 15 employees told me the company was losing €15,000 per week.

I have speak about the Government's delayed response. Many businesses and community groups are still struggling and need support. It is unacceptable that people were left without power for so long. The Government did not step in with adequate help. Today, 19 days later, some people are still without power. We need a serious commitment from the Government to ensure that when disaster strikes, we have the resources and infrastructure in place to protect our communities. If we were proactive instead of reactive, many of these power outages could have been prevented with regular inspections and maintenance of roadside trees. Many farmers and constituents who have roadside trees cannot afford to have them removed. Other trees overhang electrical and phone cables across the country. In future, we need to look at where phone cables could be put underground.

Simple measures like ensuring that Uisce Éireann has generators at treatment plants and pumping stations are crucial. The lack of forward planning left key water infrastructure without back-up generating capacity after Storm Éowyn. I urge the Government to take immediate action by providing generators for the Civil Defence to distribute to vulnerable individuals or for financial support to be provided to businesses and community organisations affected by the storm. The Government also needs to ensure that essential services like water treatment plants have the back-up they need to operate during storm crises.

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

It is during storms like these that we really see the value of public services, especially our front-line public servants, those from the ESB, local authorities, emergency services and An Garda Síochána. They were out in all weathers, in very difficult circumstances, to ensure that people were safe, looked after and were reconnected. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

The storm wreaked havoc across the State. In many areas, people are still without power and that, undoubtedly, is very worrying and requires consideration. Cork city was probably not one of the worst affected areas but nonetheless, damage was done.

One of the causes of frustration and the reason I am raising it is that while schemes are available for householders, as of yet, there is nothing for community groups, sports clubs and businesses. That is a huge problem. I will give two examples of sports clubs. These are run entirely on a voluntary basis. A huge effort goes into fundraising to ensure that jerseys and footballs are bought and insurance is paid and so on. When something like this happens, it sets clubs back hugely. Everton AFC had about €5,000 worth of damage done. Fencing, dugouts and goals were all u-ended. The club's neighbours, Ballyphehane GAA club which plays at the old Red Mills GAA pitch, also had fencing, goalposts and railings upended. This is a huge cost to these growing and developing clubs, which will set them back significantly. It is not right that there is no scheme available for them. It is not fair. I urge the Minister to open a scheme for sports clubs, community groups and businesses that have lost money and incurred significant costs because of this very severe storm.

Deputy Pearse Doherty

In my constituency of Donegal a lot of damage was done. The biggest damage was to the life of Kacper Dudek, a 20-year-old returning home from work who was killed during the storm. I want to think about him, his family and friends today. He was such a young man. We talk about the impacts that this storm has had across the State but the impact for Kacper's family will be forever. I express my gratitude to the staff of the ESB who were in regular contact with me during that time. They pulled out all the stops to get the power back on in the family home so that they could have a wake and grieve for Kacper. It took a while, but the ESB was able to achieve that.

We have seen huge devastation in our communities but we have also seen the best of our communities with the voluntary and community effort across Donegal and the State. I commend those who responded to the elderly and those who cleared roads. I also commend the staff of our State organisations, our councils, Uisce Éireann and the ESB. They all went above and beyond to get people up and back at it. Community and sporting groups opened up their facilities. As Deputy Ó Laoghaire and others mentioned, many had their own facilities were damaged. Businesses opened up their premises to allow people to recharge batteries. In some cases, hotels provided hot showers and free beds. Some of these premises had been damaged and no support has been offered to any of those sporting organisations, community groups or businesses.

When I looked at the hubs that were announced by the Government maybe a week after the storm, I discovered they were actually the community groups that were already acting from day one, just collated on a piece of paper. They are the real heroes in our community and they need to be respected, so I echo the calls in the motion to bring forward a scheme to allow those to be assisted in those sectors as well.

Without our local radio stations, many would not have known how to be reconnected, get information or, say, recharge the battery of a hoist for a child with a disability, or where they could find a safe haven. My county had an especially challenging time because a warning was issued directing people in mobile homes to leave them but, as the Minister of State will know, as a result of the defective concrete blocks scandal many of my constituents use mobile homes because their houses are less safe than a mobile home during a storm. I was very concerned for many of those people and, indeed, some mobile homes have been significantly damaged. Approximately 87,000 homes, farms and businesses in Donegal, practically the entire county, were without power after the storm, while 700 were still without power last weekend. It was only yesterday the ESB was able to confirm that all homes had had power restored, 16 days after the storm.

One case that impacted on me, although there were many, related to the family of an 85-year-old who was in contact with my office. There was no family near to where this person lived and he was alone without power for ten days. This 85-year-old was in poor health, with no light, heat or warm water for ten days. That is simply unacceptable. He was too frail to make it to any of the hubs and despite living only on a pension, he had to find money to pay for a room in a nearby hotel after the tenth day. A school in Donegal town with 30 children was left without electricity for more than a week. That is a full week of parents having to make alternative arrangements and, most likely, take time off work.

Action needs to be taken by the Government to ensure this will not happen again. The Government's response to the storm failed rural Ireland, I think it is fair to say. There was scrambling after the fact. Generators were in the wrong place, we did not have a list of hubs and we did not know where people could go for essential services. This did not, however, come out of the blue. There had been warning after warning from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, which had called out ESB Networks for unacceptable continued poor performance levels when it comes to ensuring reliability of supply. This has been going on for years, despite the ESB making eye-watering profits. We now need to see from the ESB goodwill payments for those who have been affected and the waiving of the standing charges, but it is not just the ESB. People in my county still do not have an Internet connection - businesses and residents alike. One person who contacted me by phone has relocated to the county, having thought they could do remote living and work from home, but they are now questioning that whole idea. Many others have told me to relay to the Government that if it tries to take their fireplace or stove from them, it will have another thing coming, because they have been left without heat or electricity for nearly 16 days.

An old saying of government is that lessons must be learned, but in this case the lessons should have been learned already. This was not the first storm we have had. The preparation should have been there and there was not an effective plan. Unfortunately, the Government was caught out in a bad way and people were let down as a result.

Amendment put.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú)

In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time tomorrow evening.

Dáil Éireann debate - Tuesday, 11 Feb 2025

Response to Storm Éowyn: Motion [Private Members]

Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 11 Feb 2025