Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Ministers of State, Deputy Martin Heydon and Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan, on their appointments. Deputy O'Sullivan is a good friend of mine and while I am delighted to see both Ministers of State in their positions, I think Deputy O’Sullivan is going to do a particularly good job. People often get appointed to roles they have half an interest in, but anyone who knows Deputy O'Sullivan knows he has a colossal interest in the natural heritage of this country, particularly offshore habitats and onshore bird habitats. Best of luck to both of them.

While the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, is in the Chamber, I will deal with agricultural matters. It is important that we properly map out forestry in Ireland in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn. I know there is a good database but during the time of the storm, with trees falling, there was confusion. For example, does a forestry plantation belong to Coillte, is it greenbelt or is it private forestry? Who owns it? It would be good if local authorities had an accessible database of forestry that defines the boundaries and ownership of all of those forestry plantations.

I welcome some of the commentary from the Minister of State with regard to the horticulture sector, in particular those who have polytunnels and those who grow products. Their infrastructure was devastated during the storm and they are going to need help. I farm myself. A few sheets of galvanised steel on our roof went a bit wobbly and we had to fix them, but that was minor stuff whereas some farm roofs were decimated. Beyond what is normally in TAMS and beyond normal investment or capital schemes, we need a scheme to help those farmers during the year. The horticulture sector, in particular in the case of polytunnels and similar structures, was decimated during the storm. The Department will have to step up in that regard.

I pay tribute to the ESB and Clare County Council, which were outstanding in my county. Day and night during this crisis, they worked to ensure that, as quickly as possible, communities could get power back and the community hubs were in place, and they have to be commended on that.

I know there is frustration and upset because many people waited more than a week to get power. This was an unprecedented storm, certainly unprecedented in the lifetimes of most of us. It is important that, retrospectively, we begin to call this a hurricane. I studied the wind speeds. The gust speeds recorded in Carna and parts of west Galway far exceeded anything in recent storms and they are classified as force three hurricanes in other jurisdictions. I believe we need to start calling Storm Éowyn a hurricane in the same context.

I wish to make some other points. We need to look at the importation of leylandii cypress trees. They are not native to this country, do not offer anything great in terms of habitat and are certainly wind traps when high-gust winds are passing through this country. Most of them fell during the storm. As a country, we need to look at whether it is right to import them. Most deciduous trees withstood the gusts but they did not.

The humanitarian assistance scheme needs to be broadened. Many businesses suffered a loss of income and I have helped many people in my constituency office in this regard. I believe the terms of the scheme could be broadened further to ensure businesspeople and farm owners are assisted. It is still unclear what status applies to someone who has lost food in their deep chest freezer, and whether that is covered. There is still some ambiguity in that regard.

I believe one of the things we will rue following this storm is that Uisce Éireann had to source generators to power some of the water treatment plants, water pump stations and sewerage treatment plants. There needs to be a national stock of generators that is more readily available to Uisce Éireann.

With regard to school closures, we need clarity from the Minister for Education as to whether schools will have to make up those days. I am a former schoolteacher, like Deputy John Connolly and others in the House. That certainty needs to be brought to this issue because the school calendar needs to be nailed down.

With regard to the undergrounding of cables, I heard an expert in this field say recently that it could cost 15 times more to underground them, but it should certainly be a condition of planning.

I am glad everyone was safe and I am grateful for my speaking time today.

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