Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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5. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in light of storm Éowyn, when the number of generators will be finalised for community centres and hubs; the breakdown, by county, of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68989/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, community centres, sports clubs and other community facilities were a vital part of the immediate response to storm Éowyn. I visited a number of these in the days after the storm and saw first hand how important they were, and how community volunteers were so central to the response.

These facilities will continue to be central to our emergency response in the future as they have the potential to provide access to basic welfare needs such as food, mobile phone charging, shower and hygiene facilities, and wifi access. 

As part of the response to the aftermath of storm Éowyn, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are establishing a network of  'Community Support Centres'. This is a resilience initiative which will see local authorities pre-identify suitable premises that can be utilised in response to emergency events. This  puts a more formal and planned structure on the type of response hubs mobilised during storm Éowyn, with facilities being identified and supported in advance as required. 

In many instances, these are facilities that are supported by my Department through schemes such as the Community Centre Investment Fund, CLÁR, the Town & Village Renewal Scheme and LEADER.

In addition, my Department is working with the National Directorate for Fire & Emergency Management and local authorities to fund a bank of mobile emergency generators in each local authority area. These can then be deployed as needed to community facilities that are activated as ‘Community Support Centres’ during an extreme weather event. 

I envisage that there would be 3 to 4 generators made available to each local authority at the outset. The tender process for these generators is nearing completion and the timeline for rollout will be confirmed as part of that tender process. 

I will continue to work with my colleagues across Government to support effective responses to future weather related incidents.