Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Taoiseach knows, parts of my constituency of Sligo-Leitrim and south Donegal saw some of the worst damage, with areas still reeling from the effects, particularly in forested areas of Leitrim and Sligo. As recently as yesterday, we had constituents contacting our office whose phone lines are still out of service, some of them since Storm Darragh. I have said on the record before that it is crucial for landowners, including forestry operators, to understand their responsibilities in maintaining safe distances between trees and power lines. We need a comprehensive survey of all forestry areas where power lines are in close proximity to trees. This survey should be conducted by officials from the Department of agriculture rather than Coillte or private forestry owners. We have to identify trees that pose a future risk to power lines to ensure the necessary actions, including removal, are taken to mitigate these risks. The programme for Government includes a commitment to develop an extreme weather event assistance scheme for homes, community, organisations, farmers and businesses. It is crucial that we provide specific supports for each sector to ensure we have the funding to respond to future extreme weather events.

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