Martin Daly: Demands Better Storm Resilience After Aeorn Devastation
Martin Daly spoke about the aftermath of Storm Aeorn, reporting widespread devastation in Roscaam and the Galway constituency and identifying systemic failures in power, water and communications. He urged lessons to be learned on forestry management, stronger planning by ESB, improved water resilience, faster telecoms restoration, a review of the humanitarian assistance scheme and formal support for community hubs.
Martin Daly said up to 80 percent of power outages after the storm were caused by forestry falls and argued for the establishment of tree corridors and proper forestry husbandry. He noted that many trees still pose hazards to telecommunication lines and electricity poles in his constituency and called for better planning to make the electricity system more resilient, while also paying due respect to ESB network crews who worked on the ground.
He highlighted that some people were without water for up to 21 days and insisted water supplies must be more resilient and generator ready, including water schemes. Daly criticised the slow restoration of some telecommunications services after electricity and water returned, calling the lax approach unacceptable in a time of reliance on phone and internet communications.
Daly said the humanitarian assistance scheme needs a review to clarify how it is used, what the rules are and what benefits it provides to people in distress. He recommended outlining the scheme’s operation to ensure it supports those affected effectively in future emergencies.
He pointed to strong community rallying as a positive outcome and urged institutionalising and resourcing that resilience. Citing community coordination in Balahadrine, Kiltoum and Atalon, Daly described how schemes like the rural social scheme, solidarity payments and grants were used by clubs and social workers to get food and aid to remote areas. He proposed a targeted support programme to equip identified community focal points - such as GAA and soccer clubs and community halls - with generators and other provisions so they can act as local emergency hubs for charging, showers and contact points.
Forestry and power outages
Martin Daly said up to 80 percent of power outages after the storm were caused by forestry falls and argued for the establishment of tree corridors and proper forestry husbandry. He noted that many trees still pose hazards to telecommunication lines and electricity poles in his constituency and called for better planning to make the electricity system more resilient, while also paying due respect to ESB network crews who worked on the ground.
Water supplies and telecommunications
He highlighted that some people were without water for up to 21 days and insisted water supplies must be more resilient and generator ready, including water schemes. Daly criticised the slow restoration of some telecommunications services after electricity and water returned, calling the lax approach unacceptable in a time of reliance on phone and internet communications.
Humanitarian assistance scheme review
Daly said the humanitarian assistance scheme needs a review to clarify how it is used, what the rules are and what benefits it provides to people in distress. He recommended outlining the scheme’s operation to ensure it supports those affected effectively in future emergencies.
Community hubs and resilience support
He pointed to strong community rallying as a positive outcome and urged institutionalising and resourcing that resilience. Citing community coordination in Balahadrine, Kiltoum and Atalon, Daly described how schemes like the rural social scheme, solidarity payments and grants were used by clubs and social workers to get food and aid to remote areas. He proposed a targeted support programme to equip identified community focal points - such as GAA and soccer clubs and community halls - with generators and other provisions so they can act as local emergency hubs for charging, showers and contact points.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Other speeches
Tego samego dnia All speeches from this day →
Mary Lou McDonald
Deputy Mary Lou McDonald- speech from 1 Apr 2025
Mattie McGrath
Mattie McGrath Backs Deputy Murphy, Calls to End Charades
Brian Stanley
Brian Stanley: Questions delay in free HRT rollout after budget pledge
Paul Murphy
Paul Murphy: Accuses Chief Whip of Breaking Democratic Rules
Mattie McGrath
Mattie McGrath: Warns Storm Erwin Exposed Energy Failures
Mattie McGrath
Mattie McGrath Defends Deputy Murphy, Urges Focus on Tariffs
Transcript
I'm well aware that you visited Roscaam and Galway constituency in the aftermath of the storm and you were you witnessed firsthand the devastation that was causing I think you were taking it back yourself by the level of devastation caused by storm Aeorn certainly in relation to power it's clear that up to 80 percent of the power outages were caused by forestry falls and we really do have to learn the lesson about the establishment of tree corridors proper forestry husbandry and even in the aftermath of that there are many places in my constituency where there are still trees causing hazard to telecommunication lines and electricity poles we also have to learn from Ishka and first I'm almost pay due respect to the network ESB network crews who worked on the ground but I do believe that ESB have to plan better to make their system more resilient it is in the national interest in relation to water people being out water without water for up to 21 days we really do have to ensure that Ishka and make sure that water supply is again more resilient that it is generator ready and the same with water schemes telecommunications was another area that did not was not restored in in quick time electricity came back water came back but some of the telecommunications company did not re-establish proper telecommunications in our area for a considerable time after the storm and I think that there was a lax a lax attitude to that it's simply not acceptable in the in this day and age where we depend on telecommunications and wi-fi communication the emergency hubs worked very well we should continue to invest in our local infrastructure whether it's in sports or community halls and I think you saw that first hand in Balahadrine and in Kiltoum in Atalon and in relation to the humanitarian assistance scheme I do think we need to have a review of that scheme outline how it's used what the rules are around it and what the benefits are to people who are in a situation of distress thank you one interesting positive outcome of the storm if one could even say that is the degree to which communities rallied and there's a very strong community resilience in Ireland we now need to institutionalize that a bit more and by that I mean we need to resource communities uh deputy daily reference my visit to Balahadrine there was a tremendous community focal point there and they had a tremendous coordination and they used all the various schemes from from the rural social scheme to the um the solidarity payments the grant scheme and they used that through the purchase of vans out of one scheme the role of social workers to get food to people living in remote areas so we need and then the ga clubs and the soccer clubs and they need to be provided I think with generators we need to do that in a program the way we can't do it everybody but if there's an identifiable focal point in any given community some of them didn't have generators and by the grace of god they got back power quickly so they could then make the facility available to the public so I think we need to just give develop a support scheme probably to a community rural affairs that would enable us to strategically place essential sort of provisions for those communities which would enable there to be a focal hope that people could come to for showering for charging their phones for contact and so on like that so that's something I'm very keen and to see developed