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Taoiseach Micheál Martin visiting community groups, first responders and others affected by the storm in Castlerea, Ballaghaderreen & Kiltoom, Co. Roscommon. Government Information Service
political storm brewing
Some tetchy exchanges with Taoiseach over storm preparedness as he visits Roscommon
The Taoiseach warns that ‘more severe storms’ are to come.
TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has dismissed claims that there was a lack of preparedness prior and post Storm Éowyn hitting Ireland last week.
The newly elected Taoiseach spent the day in Roscommon today where he visited local community hubs set up to help people with no electricity or water in the aftermath of the storm.
While enjoying a cup of green tea in one hub this afternoon, he was approached a Castlerea local Rachel Connolly who said, in her view, not enough had been done to prevent hundreds of thousands of people across the country losing their power.
Criticism greets Taoiseach
She told him:
“This is my fourth time to lose power in 12 months. This is now the third time in 12 months I’ve lost the entire contents in my fridge and my freezer.
“You know how much food costs. There’s no facilities around here.
“I have no power coming until 5 February. The only person that prepared for this in my home and in my village, is the people who live there.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin is in Roscommon where an emergency hub has been set up following #StormÉowyn.
— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) January 28, 2025
One resident, who says they will not have power restored until 5 February, asks Martin about the government’s response to the storm. pic.twitter.com/nexGnq1wal
Martin told Connolly that he understood her frustration, but stated that the National Emergency Coordination Group (NECG) had met “well in advance of this storm as they knew how severe the storm was going to be”.
He went on to state that there were supports put in place to help people, telling her people can reach out to their local community welfare officer.
She told him that many people in rural Ireland would prefer to have their own power supply rather than rely on the power grid.
Martin refused to accept this was the case. When she called on others in the room to raise their hand if they would prefer this option, the Taoiseach walked away.
The next stop for Martin was St Brigid’s GAA Club in Roscommon, where an emergency hub has been established to allow locals to have a warm drink, charge their phone and sit by the fire, which was ablaze this afternoon.
The reception was a lot warmer for the Taoiseach, with Martin being asked to stop for multiple photographs with locals in the club.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin arrives at St Brigid’s Club in Roscommon where an emergency hub has been set up. There’s warm drinks, a place to shower and a warm fire for local residents without power. pic.twitter.com/BdfWFTlr4M
— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) January 28, 2025
The Taoiseach was given a tour of the venue by the club’s chairperson Alan Mac Niece, who told The Journal this afternoon that his family was very lucky.
He said some of his neighbours have oxygen devices that need to be charged, while others have trees coming in through their kitchen windows after the storm.
People who have kids, who are elderly, frail, or are high dependency with medical devices that need to be charged are in need of help, he said.
Unlike Connolly, Mac Niece said the local authority and government response is what he expected, stating what occurred was an ”extraordinary event”.
“There’s been nothing like it in 80 years,” he said, though he added that there hasn’t been a lot of direct contact from the local authorities.
“I think the ESB website is very good. They’re probably giving us, hopefully, very conservative, pessimistic, estimates. But I’d rather get that, over optimistic [estimates]. But really, this is a time when the communities come together and see each other through the immediate aftermath,” said Mac Niece.
GAA club generators
“From a government perspective, what I’m more interested is how are you going to build more resilience into your network in the face of climate change,” said club chairperson.
He explained that the GAA club as a generator, but its not linked to the clubhouse, and is only used for the flood lights.
“From a national perspective, there’s lots of GAA clubs with generators. If somebody pays us and helps us to connect it to our clubhouse, our clubhouse is much more capable of being a resource centre in an emergency,” he explained.
Since the aftermath of the storm the focus has turned to the government’s preparedness, and in particular, the offer and use of generators.
Martin said it is not his understanding that there was a significant delay in requesting help, including generators and additional crews, from the EU, despite there being confirmation of time lags.
Martin said that the issue has been “completely overplayed”, and that some of those involved in helping to organise and restore power have been “frustrated” by the reports.
He defended the state’s agencies’ response, stating that they all met well in advance of the storm.
“The emergency crews can’t come out to assess the damage, and it’s only when the storm is over and the green light is given that people can go out and actually assess it.
“It took about 24 hours for an assessment. My understanding is then, that after that assessment, is a request is made, but we’ll check the details of that.”
Martin also said the country will experience more severe storms, stating that social infrastructure and community action is extremely important. He confirmed that 160,000 remain without power today.
“We’re going to do everything we possibly can to accelerate that,” the Taoiseach told reporters before leaving Roscommon this afternoon.
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