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Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has called on the Dáil to return to work to deal with the crisis of 250,000 homes left without power after Storm Éowyn – while Independent Ireland MEP, Ciarán Mullooly, has urged the government to do more to obtain aid from the EU to effectively address the ongoing emergency.
Calling for a return to Leinster House, Mr Tóibín said: “Its been over 3 days since Storm Éowyn hit Ireland and yet 250,000 premises are still without power around the country. 100,000 premises do not have any water and many homes are without phone and internet connectivity. ESB crews are working day and night in the worst of winter conditions to reconnect families. These teams are doing amazing work in bitterly cold, wet and windy weather and deserve our collective thanks”.
“However the process of reconnection is not nearly fast enough. 100,000 homes could be left without power up until the 5th of February,” he said.
“We have received so many reports of older people and people with disabilities living in homes without any power or water. Many businesses still cant reopen. There is growing frustration amongst people at the slow pace of reconnection. The idea that the Dáil is not sitting at this time of crisis is incredible. The government is the administration of this country. How can the Dáil administer anything if its not sitting. How can TDs properly hold the government to account if it’s not even meeting. How can you harness the collective knowledge and experience of the 174 TDs if they are at home. How do you facilitate the flow of potential solutions if TDs are on holidays from the Dáil. How do you build up pressure to create the necessary ministerial urgency if TDs are at home”.
“We need to increase resources into the ESB’s reconnection teams. We need to reassign reconnection crews from the areas least hit to the worst off. We need international help. We need to see what resources from the private sector can be drafted in. We need to see how can we underground more of the Irish network to prevent power outages in the future. The Irish electricity system is more reliant on overhead transmission than the British system and is therefore more exposed to these time of weather”.
“For future snow and wind events we need to see how councils can work in partnership with farmers to ensure that roads are cleared. Farmers have the machinery to clear roads and could enter long term contracts with councils. So many of our electricity polls are rotten and need replacing. ‘Ash Die Back’ has left so many large trees weakened across the country adding to the mayhem. We need a process to fell these trees from road sides. There is still no proper flood warning system in place. In Midleton an elderly man stays awake overnight in heavy rain to act as a human water gauge, such is the real worry of the threat to life in the catchment. Midleton and many other areas still have no planning permission for flood defences nearly a decade after they were first promised,” the Meath West TD said, adding that “weather events like these will only increase in frequency with global warming yet the government’s response is to leave TDs sitting at home”.
Meanwhile, Independent Ireland MEP Ciaran Mullooly has said he wants to see more urgency from the government on EU offers of storm aid. The Irish government must do more, he said, to ensure the country gets much-needed aid from the EU to effectively address the ongoing emergency following Storm Éowyn.
The European Commissioner for Crisis Management has confirmed she offered emergency help to the Irish government last Wednesday (the day before storm) but only received a request for help with generator capacity and crews at 4pm on Saturday for the first time, Mullooly said.
“I find this inexplicable,” the MEP said. “Irish water needs hundreds of generators to keep reservoirs open while waiting for the ESB to deal with unbelievable levels of damage. We desperately need those generators to maintain water and proper safety standards for half a million homes.”
Ireland has requested large mobile generator capacity and is currently defining the exact voltages and quantities they need to update their request. Germany and Denmark already indicated that they want to make an offer but they are waiting for the technical specifications from Ireland in terms of what precisely is needed, the MEP said.
MEP Mullooly spoke directly to the Commissioner for Crisis Management and also has been in contact with Commissioner Fitto, who is responsible for Cohesion Funds, to plan for any potential Cohesion Funding which could be used to help Ireland rebuild.
The MEP said, “I welcome the swift response from the European Commission in providing emergency reports, satellite mapping and endeavouring to mobilise vital resources such as mobile generators. However, given the scale of the challenges Ireland faces, it is imperative that the Government requests further assistance, in a timely manner, to ensure all necessary supports are deployed without delay.”
“I call on the Government to closely monitor developments and assess additional needs as the situation evolves. The EU stands ready to provide support, and we must not hesitate to ask for it.” MEP Mullooly added.
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