Keira Keogh (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is an honour to rise in the Chamber for the first time as a Teachta Dála. I want to express my deep gratitude to the people of Mayo who have put their trust in me and who voted for me. I feel a great responsibility and I commit to working as hard as possible every day to fulfil that responsibility. I also want to briefly thank my team, former Minister, Michael Ring, my friends, Fine Gael members and family who all supported me and worked hard towards my journey here to Leinster House.

Today, I want to talk about the people and communities across the country, especially in the west and north west and my constituents in Mayo, who have had an extremely challenging and distressing fortnight since Storm Éowyn, which, as we know, was an enormous and unprecedented storm. In my county of Mayo, 98% of power was lost, leaving just 600 of 40,000 customers remaining with power. Thankfully, there has been limited loss of life - I really want to extend my sympathies to the family of Kacper Dudek - but farms, homes, businesses and community facilities have been destroyed or left really damaged, with those supporting them counting the costs and bearing the stress. Last weekend, I visited some of those areas and saw the destruction first hand. There has been hurricane-like destruction in places like Burrishoole GAA club, the Connacht Centre of Excellence and farms where sheds and fences have been totally destroyed.

At the forefront of my mind every morning and every night as I have been working extremely hard since the storm has been the elderly people, of a different generation, who do not want to leave their homes. They are very resilient but it has become very cold and it is extremely challenging after a fortnight. Many families of autistic people who rely on routine and assisted technology did not want to take up the offer of alternative accommodation. They have to be kept at the forefront of our mind as we continue to work as hard as we can to ensure power is restored.

The worst of times bring out the best of people. I thank the weather team - the red warning definitely saved lives - the crews on the ground, Uisce Éireann, the almost 3,000 staff with the ESB, Eir, the Air Corps and Civil Defence. The emergency response hubs, of which there were 36 in my county, have been an absolute lifesaver for people where they can charge phones, get Wi-Fi and shower. The staff and volunteers on the ground have been amazing. County council staff and local councillors are working day in, day out. Our farmers have been supporting these efforts by clearing roads, etc.

The humanitarian assistance fund has been helpful and will continue to be helpful but I agree with many of my colleagues that more is needed here. More support will be needed for farms, businesses and homes. Clarity and clearer communication are needed on what is included and how to get it, etc.

There is learning here and we must move forward with learning, especially when we look at the ESB. It is so helpful for people to know why their power is out, how will it be restored and when it will be restored. I know these faults were dynamic but I think we can improve communications as we go forward. We need a really flexible and efficient system to protect our vulnerable people, including elderly people who do not want to leave their homes, those who are cut off from communication, medically vulnerable people and the families of autistic people who rely on routine. We need generators at our water stations, GAA pitches and medical facilities. Our leadership will be measured not only in how we respond to this storm, but also in how we learn and prepare for the storms that are coming down the line.

See this speech in context