Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank my constituents in Dún Laoghaire for their support in the most recent election. Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Teachta O'Meara on his maiden speech.

I welcome the opportunity to examine the Government response and national response to Storm Éowyn. I acknowledge the exceptional efforts of our front-line workers, including those in the ESB and Irish Water who have helped non-stop since Storm Éowyn hit Ireland on the morning of 24 January. I also acknowledge the efforts of teams from abroad. Skilled technicians from Austria, Finland, France, Britain, Germany and Norway are on the ground in the worst-impacted areas, supporting over 2,500 local ESB Networks crews.

Storm Éowyn was a record-breaking extra-tropical cyclone. To put it in context, it was one of the worst winter storms to hit Ireland since oíche na gaoithe móire, the night of the big wind, in 1839, which itself was reported at the time to be the worst storm in 300 years. It has been noted by Professor John Sweeney of NUI Maynooth that the night of the big wind is considered to be the worst scenario for insurance purposes here in Ireland. While instruments were relatively rudimentary in 1839, it should be noted that maximum gusts recorded from the night of the big wind were reported to be just 2 km/h more than the 183 km/h recorded at Mace Head, Connemara, two weeks ago.

The aftermath of Storm Éowyn saw over 1 million households on the island lose power, 743,000 of these in the Twenty-six Counties. This has caused great hardship for many people, particularly vulnerable households, which we have heard about this afternoon. While we can be thankful that almost all homes, farms, schools and businesses have seen their power and water restored, a reported 25,000 homes are still without power.

Elements of the national response have been very effective but there are lessons to be learned and I welcome the commitment from an Taoiseach today that national regulations will be amended to ensure human safety will be put first at all times. We have seen how trees that were too close to homes, roads and power lines caused significant damage and interruption to utilities. This is an issue impacting both urban and rural areas. Local authorities must be instructed to introduce regulations and policies that put safety first. They need to fell or prune trees where they pose a danger.

We have seen a great effort to establish 335 emergency response hubs across 17 local authority areas as well as local co-ordination groups in 16 local authority areas. However, it is clear we need to improve our emergency preparedness ahead of the next very significant weather event. Each community across the country should have designated emergency shelters to which households at risk of or impacted by a natural disaster can evacuate. GAA halls, community centres, schools and hotels could be ideal. Future developments of these types should be supported by Government to ensure they are fit for purpose for use in emergencies. These centres should be fitted out with emergency facilities and generators. The Government should also establish a scheme to support key services such as GP services, clinics and pharmacies in isolated parts of the country to ensure they have sufficient generation or battery backup power.

We must also improve practical efforts to ensure people can access increased emergency funding more quickly. I thank the Ministers for their support in their rapid response to the needs of people in the affected areas.

I pay tribute to everyone involved in the response from our front-line workers, including the Garda and Civil Defence, other front-line workers throughout Ireland, and the teams from abroad, to the community groups, such as Meals on Wheels and local authority teams, which have worked night and day over the past two weeks to alleviate the hardship caused by these terrible events.

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