From now on all schools in ireland should have generators on the premises as a backup plan in the event of power outages, a Senator has said.
The remarks come as the last remaining ESB customers, left without power for 18 days since Storm Éowyn first hit, are finally set to have their electricity restored tonight.
Commenting on the saga, Independent Senator Sharon Keogan told Gript that the Government needs to “make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
“All schools should have generators,” she said.
“The idea that schools would close down because of something like this is ridiculous. Especially when some of these kids have already been disrupted for 2 years of their education.”
She said that schools should be provided with State grants going forward which would allow them to invest in a generator on their property.
Keogan further said that she had pitched Fianna Fáil Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary on the idea of offering community groups grants for emergency packs to help areas during extreme weather events.
“The ESB have an emergency pack that they recommend that people have in their homes in case of an outage,” she said.
“It’s just called an emergency kit checklist. It has items for every season, stuff for the summer and stuff for the winter. But, you know, if there was a grant for, let’s say, community groups to have them ready to go in the event of trouble, I think that might make sense.”
The list in question features a long list of emergency items that the ESB recommends individuals and communities have on-hand in case of a problem.
These include, but are not limited to:
– Water (One gallon per person, per day)
– Water purification tablets
– Rope
– Non-perishable or extended life foods and plastic utensil packets (Canned meats and vegetables, mini-boxes of cereal, dried fruits and jerky, nut butters, honey, preserves, trail mixes or granola bars)
– Can opener
– First Aid Kit
– Landline telephone (Doesn’t require electricity, and you can typically find barebones plans for ~$10/month)
– Insurance and health ID copies (Store copies of important documents in a portable container, like a waterproof tube on a lanyard. You might need to share these with healthcare workers or insurance adjusters and may not be able to access them digitally or if they are damaged due to storm)
– Duct tape
– Candles
– Weather radio
– Pet food
…And more.
The full list can be viewed below:
