Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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148. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government whether additional funding will be made available to local councils for the purposes of dealing with fallen trees and the damage to council property caused as a result of Storm Éowyn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3895/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Local authorities are designated as the lead agencies for coordinating a response to flooding and severe weather emergencies.

All local authorities have an established Severe Weather Assessment Team in place, monitoring Met Éireann weather warnings, High Tide Advisories and European Flood Awareness System (EFAS) advisory warnings. Local authorities also have Severe Weather/ Flood Plans in place to support the response to weather emergencies.

My Department undertakes the Lead Government Department role, as set out in the Strategic Emergency Management (SEM) Framework (2017), in relation to the coordination of national level responses to severe weather and flooding emergencies, where warranted. My Department's National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management undertakes this role and works closely with local authority Severe Weather Assessment Teams and Met Éireann.

Since 2009, my Department has made financial support of over €100 million available to assist local authorities in meeting the unbudgeted costs of clean-up and necessary immediate works, including for exceptional overtime payments, the hire of plant and heavy machinery, the purchase of materials required for the clean-up and the hire of contractors associated with significant severe weather emergency events.

This is in recognition of the exceptional nature of the activities carried out by local authorities in responding to these types of emergencies and the fact that the costs of these un-programmed activities could not be foreseen in annual expenditure planning. This practice is considered a vital enabler of the local authority action, providing the assurance that availability of resources is not a limiting factor in providing a very effective local response.

In the context of Storm Éowyn and the exceptional nature of the response activities carried out by local authorities, clearly the costs of these activities were not budgeted for within existing resources. As always, my Department will work with local authorities to support them over the coming months, as they co-ordinate recovery and restoration works.

It should be noted that funding of repair of public infrastructure is undertaken by the relevant Department in line with its sectoral responsibility. Capital costs associated with infrastructural damage, for example damage to the roads network and coastal protection infrastructure (where relevant), are funded under relevant sectoral arrangements.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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149. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the role housing authorities have during emergencies that affect their tenants’ safety and well-being such as the one ongoing due to Storm Éowyn; if housing authorities are responsible for ensuring that vulnerable tenants have access to basic necessities during extended power and water outages; if this policy will be reviewed in light of the experience of social housing tenants during Storm Éowyn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3904/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Framework for Major Emergency Management 2006 (Framework) designates local authorities as the “Lead Agency” for coordinating the response to nine emergency scenarios, including severe weather and flooding. Local authorities are recognised as being best placed to lead and co-ordinate an emergency response in terms of capability, experience and knowledge. They work with the other two Principal Response Agencies (An Garda Síochána and the HSE) and together form the hub around which a local response is mobilised, directed and coordinated.

As part of the response to Storm Éowyn, local authorities undertook the clearing of roads (trees and debris), and prioritised the clearing of access routes to critical infrastructure to allow the utilities providers to carry out repairs and restoration works.

Local authorities also established Local Co-ordination Groups that were responsible for establishing Community Hubs in areas that were impacted and without power and services. These hubs act as information centres, contact points, and provide access to charging facilities and in some cases hot food and drink and showers. These also act as sites for Uisce Éireann to provide alternative water sources such as tankered water and bottled water for collection by those living in impacted communities. There is also a welfare element to the Community Hubs with Social Protection Community Welfare Officers and Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment representatives on site to advise on state supports which are available to those impacted.

These Community Hubs and the other services provided by the local authorities and other agencies are available to all citizens in the impacted communities including tenants of local authorities. These services will remain in place where necessary until all citizens’ connections to essential utilities are full restored.

In relation to their housing function, local authorities may disregard the order of priority given to a household under an allocation scheme in certain exceptional circumstances, including displacement by fire, flood or any other emergency, development, redevelopment or regeneration of an area by the housing authority, or exceptional medical or compassionate grounds. This can facilitate a local authority tenant being provided with alternative accommodation in circumstances where the dwelling they are living in is no longer habitable due to exceptional circumstances. I have no plans to review the policy in this area at this time.