Louth TD says lessons must be learned from State response to Storm Éowyn

Lessons need to be learned from the State’s response to the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, which saw significant, prolonged power outages in parts of Louth, Dundalk TD Ruairí Ó Murchú has said.

Last week, his party Sinn Féin, wrote to Taoiseach Micheál Martin with five proposals to provide necessary relief to communities hit by the storm. Deputy Ó Murchú said the decision not to recall the Dáil was “wrong and negligent”.

He commended the “incredible work” done by agencies to restore power, water and infrastructure but said the storm had “exposed infrastructural deficits that need to be rectified for the future”.

Deputy Ó Murchú outlined the key asks from Sinn Féin. He said: “We want the establishment an emergency accommodation scheme where the provision of hotel vouchers for those individuals from the worst affected areas by the storm can access a hot shower, a bed, and a warm room.

“We have also asked for goodwill payments to be made to households based on the duration of time spent without power, as is happening in other jurisdictions, to be funded by the windfall profits of energy companies, as well as an increased budget for local authorities to carry out maintenance work on trees that pose a risk to power lines.

“We want to see the ESB to commence a roll-out of generators to medically vulnerable customers on the existing Vulnerable Customers List and flexibility with the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme and ensure insurance companies play their part by not increasing premiums on customers who make claims due to the storm’.

Deputy Ó Murchú said he had spent a busy week trying to help people in the Louth constituency where there were “serious problems” with water shortages and prolonged electricity outages. He said it was clear that a better communications system across the board, including ESB, Louth County Council, Uisce Éireann and other State agencies, was needed.

He said: “The Hackballscross area was particularly badly affected by water shortages caused by power outages at the pumping stations. There were further issues at Hackballscross station with air locking, power and pressure impacted by leaks in the wider network.

“In addition, my office dealt with calls from older people who, while able to get hot food and warmth during the day at different centres, were left to go home at night to freezing cold houses. In addition, we had situations where parents were looking after sick children and performing medical care with the light on their phones each night.”

He said he had met with senior ESB representatives on Friday and had also met with management at Louth County Council last week.