Community Matters 18feb2025

Storm Aowin hit the Connemara region with record-breaking wind speeds. It caused extensive damage to homes, buildings, and infrastructure, resulting in power outages, water shortages, and connectivity problems. The response to the storm was deemed insufficient, and a review is underway to improve future storm responses. Public representatives discussed the need for better planning, including the availability of generators and addressing issues with the ESB and tree placement. The community came together to support those affected, including using Clifton Hospital as a facility for people without power or heat. Going forward, there is a determination to ensure that future storms are handled more efficiently. Community Matters is kindly sponsored by Connemara Credit Union Limited, incorporating Clifton, Tully Cross and Carnda branches. Connemara Credit Union is here to serve the people of the Connemara area. Main office, Clifton and Tully Cross branch, 19521101. Good evening listeners and you're all very welcome back to another Community Matters programme. My name is Carmel Murray and we're broadcasting as always on 87.8 and one of 6.1 FM. And I have a co-presenter tonight and I'm very pleased to welcome Kevin Gavin. And Kevin will be filling in where I'm, where I'm losing, you know, when I lose touch and when I don't think Kevin will have it all on the top of his tongue. So we won't, there'll be no delays and questions. Now, you may remember, this is a follow-up programme to a programme we did two weeks ago where we had all representatives from all the local areas in Connemara after the storm and they told us about the effects on the different areas. But, you know, as this programme is online and we've had queries in from different places around the world, especially where Irish people are, the diaspora wanted to know what were we talking about and, you know, what was AWIN? So Kevin has very kindly prepared a synopsis of what happened here in our area on January the 24th. So over to you, Kevin, and you're very welcome to the programme. Thank you very much, Carmel. Storm AWIN hit the Connemara region in the early hours of the morning of Friday, January the 24th. The whole country had been placed under a red weather warning and we were told to expect the worst, especially along our west coast. Record breaking wind speeds on the Irish mainland were recorded at mace head of 184 kilometres per hour and this hurricane hit our homes, villages and towns with massive force. Destruction and damage were caused to houses, buildings, telegraph poles, cables, trees and the region had its biggest loss of power, water and connectivity ever, which is still affecting people weeks later. Without a doubt, there has been severe hardship for many people in our region. Thank you, Kevin. That explains what we will be talking about going through the next hour of this programme. Now, today we will speak to our public representatives and we're very happy to have our local councillors, Councillor Eileen Mannion and Councillor Jerry King in the studio with us. You're very welcome, Jerry and Eileen. Thank you. And we will have on Zoom, because they couldn't make it in person, we'd have Catherine Connolly with the TD in Dalyardon, she's an independent TD, and she will be on Zoom with us. And we have John Connolly, newly elected TD for in Dalyardon as well. And he will be confirmed coming into us by Zoom. And we will have Mairead Farrell, who's a TD in Dalyardon, and Mairead will be coming to us on Zoom as well. So they will be joining us through, they'll be listening in through the programme and joining in and answering and taking and answering questions on Zoom. So first, and then of course, we had Derek Leary, the Minister, the newly appointed Minister for Social Protection, Rural Community Development, and the Gaelcuds, who was unable to join us. And we did ask for a statement from him, but we didn't get anything. The statement wasn't forthcoming. So we have no answer back from Derek Leary, TD, but if he does happen to join us and say he's available somewhere, we'll be delighted to hear from you. But we do have a press statement from Hildegard Nocton. Now, Hildegard very apologetically rang and text to say she couldn't make it because of another commitment that she just couldn't get out of. And Eileen Mannion confirmed that to us when she came, that Hildegard was stuck in something she couldn't get out of. But she has sent us a statement. And Kevin, you might read that now, please. I was in Connemara on the Tuesday afterwards due to the storm, visiting the worst affected areas and will actually be there again on Friday with Councillor Eileen Mannion to visit some schools damaged and in need of urgent work. I am on record as saying that the response to the storm was not sufficient. I raised the matter at Cabinet immediately afterwards and again the following week. Resultantly, there is a review ongoing into the state's response to the storm. This will cover all aspects of the storm response from the availability of community hubs to the placement of trees beside or adjacent to power lines, etc. The impact disproportionately affected the west of Ireland. And I am adamant that we must ensure that future storms are handled far more efficiently. And I will continue to pursue the matter at Cabinet with colleagues. Apologies again for the delay coming back to you and not being able to attend this evening. With regards, Huda Gadnoxon, TD. Thank you very much, Hilda. This is very good. So, she will be following up on what happened and more importantly, what didn't happen after the storm. So, in the studio with us, as I said, we have Councillor Eileen Mannion and Councillor Jerry King. And can I ask you first, you know, what is your perception of going forward of what we should do to prepare for storms like Storm Eowyn? Maybe take your First Lady's first, Eileen. Thank you very much, Carmel. Just, I suppose, Hilda's statement there, I think the Friday probably has changed to next week and just on availability of people. Going forward, we all know the response wasn't there and I suppose this was a once in a hundred year event. Even though we had the warnings there, I don't think any of us expected, I think we're all prepared for maybe a day, you know, at home with a few candles and a stock of food for a day or two. But no one expected the enormous damage that was carried out that night, unfortunately. But the good thing is that, you know, thanks to the meteor warnings and thanks to people heeding the red warning, you know, there was no loss of life in this area, across the county. And even during the last few weeks where ESB crews have been working, Trojan work, air workers, it's clear, the Boynton County Council workers, everybody on the ground working. Thankfully, there was no fatalities or injuries there either because there was constant warning, you know, to put cables down, entangled with trees and people, you know, anxious to clear a road might go out. So, thankfully, that didn't happen. Going forward, there's an awful lot. And the good thing is, and I said this earlier, when we were talking earlier, we had power outages around some of the Canadian areas before Christmas due to storms, due to snow. And we got very little traction on it. And, you know, it wasn't seen as a crisis, but it was a crisis for the people involved. But this time, because it's out to all of the country and the whole government's response is there, I think, you know, there will be better planning going forward. If Aaron today announced that they've planned to get 100 extra generators in, now, if we had generators in place in time, people would at least not be without water, which we some have. The one good thing, you know, I listened to your program last week, there's one or two things I picked up on. People mentioned Clifton Hospital. Clifton Hospital was open, thanks to, again, the local community and the campaign and keeping it open. And they did take in extra people, they called them social, for social admissions, people who were in oxygen, people who had electric beds and couldn't stay at home, and people who maybe didn't have heat at home. They took those in. And some people were off that, didn't want to leave their homes, but that facility was there. And I think that's huge for the community. And that's something that never came up in all our campaigns, and that's there. I think water is one thing. We all know that air is a disgrace, and has been a disgrace for years. I just got back there the other day, back in 2020, Prime tended a program on them, and, you know, people waiting for weeks and weeks to have their repairs carried out, and no response on the phone. And even before Christmas, again, going back to Ransom Valley, people who were out before then didn't have their power lines or their internet restored. So now we see, and now we see it again, this storm, they still haven't. And we are emailing them, we have an email, specific email for them now, and they'll come back and say two or three weeks, and then they'll come back and say that's changed now, because of the further damage, and we discovered, and it'll take longer. So that's not good enough. And I know the government ministers, and they're all new governments, but remember, the government was formed, and new ministers appointed just the day before the storm. Yeah, but they were there. Oh, they were there. Absolutely. Oh, they were there. Yeah, they were there. But since then, each minister who's responsible for the ESB has called the ESB in, and wants a plan put in place for, you know, securing the network into the future. The air has been called in. We laugh when we get to them, Eileen, and laugh at what they're going forward, whatever. Yeah. And I also think, in relation to trees, you know, along the road, that really has to be looked at. That's a big issue. Yeah, of course. I keep on coming out here tonight, looking at those trees, and we have another bad storm, but before those fall down, yeah. Gerry, what's your view? Look, going forward, like, we all know what happened on the 24th of January. Were we prepared, or will we be better prepared next storm, next event? We weren't prepared. I suppose what we had was an unprecedented weather event of a violent nature, completely alien to, I suppose, Ireland. Where we get storms, yes, we get, sometimes you get the west, northwest of Ireland, sometimes you get the south, southeast, but this was pretty much all through the west, northwest, and a lot of other areas. The amount of damage done, actually, probably has led to the problem of the slow comeback on infrastructure. For example, if the west of Ireland got a bad storm alone, you could have people pulled in from the east of the country to help out, particularly with ESB. That didn't happen. The whole country was pretty much in lockdown for a number of days. We hadn't the capability to get back on line as fast as we could with anything, really. So we're talking about going forward. We were not ready for anything. I think, as Councillor Manning has said, red warnings we have taken a bit for granted. But this was pretty much flagged as being what we call the perfect storm that was going to do immense damage. We were not ready for the afters of it. So in this going forward part, water, in all the calls I think we received, or certainly I received, water became the main issue. The power, yes, could be do without for a while. So the water was the main issue. Therefore, Iskerdan were absolutely not ready for this. How will they get ready for it? They invest in it. They get their generators, and they get their, not all, not every water plant needs the big generator. Some of them will do with smaller ones. Pretty much 4,000 plants in the country, and they have got to get up to speed with generators. That's number one. We have just been joined online by Catherine Connolly and John Connolly and Maria's R3TDs. Good evening, folks, and you're very welcome to the Community Matters Program. Thank you so much. Thanks for having us on. It's our pleasure to have you. And I have questions for each one of you folks. But I'll ask my first one. I don't know if you heard Jerry or Councillors Jerry and Eileen. They are giving their brief on what happened and going forward to what we need. But John Connolly, I'll ask you the first question, and you're very welcome to the Community Matters Program as a newly elected TD. Congratulations on that. Can you hear me, John? Is he gone? No, I'm here. My apologies. I'm here. Can you hear me? Yeah, I can. Congratulations on your election. My question for you, John, is why was the government so slow in enacting an emergency response to a real emergency, especially in the West? Well, I think, you know, it's making an assumption. I mean, there are a number of measures the government took in the lead up to the event. The National Emergency Coordination Group met on the Wednesday prior to the storm. The humanitarian assistance scheme was launched on the Thursday before the storm hit at all. I thought it was important to remember that we had a red warning. Now, we've had red warnings before, but I think even I would agree with Jerry's comments there, this was unheard of in terms of its impact. And I think we must bear that in mind. The meteorological data highlights that. We've had gust speeds as we've never had previously, and we've had consistently high wind speeds as we've never had previously. And we had the highest ones here, John. The highest, as you know, was in your own area near enough to yourself there in Karnagh at Macehead. But you mentioned NECG, the National Emergency Coordination Group. They were given a substantial budget so that people should apply for funding right away. But that didn't happen because everything that was done by the NECG, it didn't happen. I mean, for example, why didn't they request generators from Europe? The request didn't go in until Saturday from the government. And the storm had actually happened on Thursday and Friday morning. They were slow. Why was everything so slow? Well, I think the government have discounted that. And I think Europe has even recognised the fact that in terms of such appeals for help, Europe won't provide help before they know the impact of the event. And I think to do otherwise would say that there were resources possibly being shared before they had necessity to. So Europe were very clear on that. And they said that. I read of the European Commissioner in charge of the emergency response area who said specifically that Europe would not provide support until the damage and the impact of the storm had been assessed. So that was said. I think that was a political point that was made prior to or immediately after the event. But Europe have cleared that up. The government looked for assistance as soon as they could. And Europe helped as soon as they saw fit. That point, John, was made by the people working on the ground who were set out to deal with it. And trying to... The point was specifically in relation to Europe. The point specifically in relation to the European assistance. Yeah. I think that was made politically. And you're absolutely right. I'm not a politician. You said it to me. Yeah, I know. Yeah, whatever. But... But you did say it to me because it gained traction, but it was discounted by the government and it was discounted by Europe. All right. Okay. So whatever. So, Maria, good evening. Are you there? Hello, Maria. I am indeed. I am indeed. Yes. I do. You're very welcome to the panel. Maria, a quick question for you, Maria. How badly prepared were the government for this storm? You know, knowing that they had had plenty noticed. How badly prepared were we? Or was our government? Well, I think you can kind of take it from two angles. So obviously, first of all, this was a particularly bad storm. And we can all take that on board. And weather, you know, weather and storms are outside the control of anybody, no matter who would be in government. But I think what annoys people across Connemara is that while this might have been a once-in-a-lifetime storm, it isn't a once-in-a-lifetime situation for people in Connemara. Like we had in November the, you know, the serious issues with Storm Dara. And it highlighted how vulnerable a lot of our basic infrastructure has been. And the fact that I remember I was in Roundstone during that after Storm Dara. And speaking to a man who had come at that point, I suppose, I think he was from Oxford or somewhere like that. And he was coming to help doing some work on the poles and that. And he was saying like the poles were rotten from the inside. So this is something that isn't new for the people in Connemara. Like they have been without telecommunications and without electricity. And I think as Eileen and Gerry both said very clearly, crucially without water, which is a very, very difficult thing, which we've obviously seen in this latest storm. I think there are very practical things that the government now needs to say right. Going forward, we need to make sure we have this. Number one, we need to make sure that our health centres have generators. So that our health centres can work and work efficiently. So that it's not a situation whereby, for example, you know, like medication has to be thrown out. Vaccines have to be thrown out. The other crucial thing, and this is from speaking to health centres across Connemara, so North Connemara and South Connemara, they also need to have some way of accessing the outside world. Be that a satellite phone. Now we obviously know that Tetra failed during this storm. And I know I raised this with Jack Chambers only last week. And he said he was investigating it and that he would be providing us with an update. But again, we need to make sure we work together to make sure that there isn't a situation whereby, if there's a crisis like this, that people can't ring 999. So this is a serious issue. So while, yes, I think the government should have been far more prepared because we had seen what had happened in November. I also kind of think that we have now seen what has happened. And we now need to make sure this doesn't happen again. So it's not even just looking backwards. We need to really look forwards here. And I have to say, just on what Eileen was saying in relation to the likes of Ayr. You know, like I had met with Ayr after what had happened in November. And I don't think they fully understand how difficult it is for people when they don't have the telecommunications or that they realise how serious this is. But there is another more longer-term thing. So there's this whole concept, in my view, of having the generators. I think it was Eileen who said as well about generators and water pumps to make sure that there's water there. There's that. There's the health centres. There's the satellite phone issue. But then also we need to be looking long-term at the investment in our basic infrastructure. Because if we don't have investment – and that's the longer-term thing. And it's going to cost a lot of money, right? And we all need to be aware of that. But if we don't have that investment in that basic, basic infrastructure, and I'm talking like the poles and all that, like looking back at what your man has said to me in Roundstone about them rotting from the inside, you see how the poles have been split in two. We need to look at that seriously. But I really do think we now know how bad it was, and we need to make sure that doesn't happen again, and we all collectively work together on it. Did we get enough help from outside, Mairead? I mean, I know different countries supplied with different groups of workers and that. Was there enough of a response from Europe, other European countries, as there would normally be? Look, I mean, it was good, obviously, that we have to welcome the fact that other countries came and they supported us. But I think, like, you know, it's the fact that we were without those basic things, like, you know, having the – like the fact that we – I remember – so all of us really were out and about, obviously, in the communities chatting to people. But you were a week post the storm and going into a health centre, and there'd be no electricity, no way of communicating, not even being able to ring 999. And you're thinking there's something fundamentally wrong here, and it's scary, because there have been families who are trying to ring 999 and who couldn't in that medical emergency. So in my view, at least if there was one place in each town, like, or village, that, you know, you can go to a health centre and at least there's communication in the outside world. That is key. But for me, it's about, like, let's look at this now going forward. Let's collectively work together on the solutions together. Okay. Right. Sorry. Just one minute. Yes, Eileen. Just go back to the 999. And there's a system – the other system, the TETRA system, which was for emergency services, used by all local authorities all over the country, all emergency services. So that was a big shock that that failed. And that's really a serious issue. And I know the government are looking at it. But, I mean, you know, that was brought in a few years ago because it was going to be all and end all of communications. But that was really disappointing. But it broke down. It didn't work when it was needed. No, it didn't work. Absolutely. Okay. Sorry. Joining us on the line and waiting patiently is Catherine Connolly, GD. Good evening, Catherine. Good evening. Good evening. You're very welcome to the Community Matters programme. Thank you. And, Catherine, I think you've been listening to us there, you know, talking about what happened and what could – well, nothing could have been prevented, I suppose, but going forward what can be done. But, Kevin, my co-presenter has a question for you, Catherine. Okay. Catherine Orsay as well. Congratulations on being re-elected. I know you joined Mary Ruddy in the studio there before Christmas. So well done there. Catherine, just wondering straight away, should the Dáil have been recalled for, as clearly, an emergency event? Even John Connolly there mentioned that it was, you know, an emergency event before the storm happened. Yes, I do. I don't think the Dáil should have set full stop. But when it didn't set, it should have been recalled. And I just want – you know, I've listened carefully and I've read quite a lot. And, indeed, as I look at my screen here, two things come up. One, people still without broadband weeks later. And it will be weeks more before the repairs are finished. And, secondly, then a local group in Coisarraige writing to all TDs to meet with them at a date set Monday and Monday week in relation to working proactively to ensure that this will never happen again without a proper comprehensive plan in place. So my first reaction is the resilience of the people on the ground. One has to thank the people for their resilience in the face of such a ferocious storm and the lack of, what would I say, a plan by the government. Yes, I pay tribute to the workers on the ground and to the humanitarian assistance given by the government. However, the word unprecedented has been used. This storm was unprecedented with 184 kilometre winds per hour. Now, let me quote from Peter Thorne who sits on the Climate Adaptation Committee, the Climate Action Adaptation Committee. And he's a professor in Maynooth. And he said, tasked among other issues with preparing Ireland for what's expected from a disturbed climate. And he dismisses the excuse that this was an unprecedented moment. Because in a reasonable worst case scenario, this should have been anticipated. You are always going to get something unprecedented and that is the nature of the beast. Now, I fully agree with him on that. And that's one of the experts that sit on the committee that looks at this on an annual basis. In 2023 alone, from reading these reports, we had 11 named storms. That continued in 2024. And it was a very bad start in 2025 with this storm. Yes, the storm was ferocious. But there should have been a plan in place. And so, we left it to the resilience of the people and communities. And I see that the Meals on Wheels even managed to continue. Without help from the government, except in a reactive manner. And yes, hubs were set up eventually. And all of that was good, but it was reactive. And we were all in receipt of letters from GPs and GPs in their clinics. Telling us that it was impossible for them to work. We had a particularly informative letter from a GP with seven paragraphs. Highlighting specifically, in a practical way, what should have been done and what should be done in the future. So, what I would like to, just in relation to the points Councillor Eileen Manion made in relation to the Clifton Hospital. I think it highlights in a most acute way, the absolute need to keep that hospital open as a multifunctional hospital. And certainly, the storm did that. Good. Well, Catherine, I just want to make the point. Because obviously, we're down here on the West Coast. We are remote. A lot of us didn't have phone, radio for a long time. You know, families couldn't get such a parent out here for a long time. It's hard to know what's going on outside of here. You know, the fact that it was on the West Coast and not on the East Coast. Was the reaction not enough because of that? Is it a thing that we're way out West and we're not sort of out? And just on that, Catherine, just while I have you. I know Mairead Farrow spoke in the door, I don't know if you were there that day and bring up the issues. It looked like it was very quiet in the room when she was speaking. Yeah, we all took our turn to speak. And sometimes people get a wrong impression. It's the one time I would defend TDs. They're not all within the Dáil at the same time. And because you're elsewhere doing other things. But you run in and make sure you're there for your speaking time. And you're also there for the opening of the Dáil with the leaders' questions. But I don't think it was the TD in the Dáil out of 174 that didn't fight to have their chance to speak on the storm. And bring to the attention of the government their experience on the ground and what people were telling them. And certainly, I've raised it twice in two different. But that's just by the way. And sometime we might come back to how the Dáil works and why it looks empty on occasions. Maybe we could do that another day. But in relation to the regional imbalance, that is definitely an important factor here. Without a doubt, if this storm had wreaked havoc in Dublin or in the areas near Dublin, I have no doubt that there would have been a more urgent response to it. And we see this in an awful lot of the policies of government. That lip service is paid to balance regional development. For example, I mentioned Peter Thorn already. And one of the recommendations, and there were many from the Climate Advisory Council. And one of them was to urgently publish a coastal management plan. Now there isn't a sign of that plan. And that has been a recommendation, standing recommendation for a very long time. And there isn't a sign of a coastal management plan. That's just one practical example. And there are many others. So what I said in my contributions to the Dáil was, yes, yes, on the ground people were fantastic. Yes, the local authorities did what they could in a reactive manner. But it's not good enough. What we need is a proactive plan, given that we have declared a climate emergency, given that these will not be unprecedented in the future. And we need to look at the recommendations from the Climate Advisory Council and the Adaptation Subcommittee and see why their recommendations are not being taken on board and implemented in a practical way that works with the people, so that we are much better prepared on the next occasion. So Catherine, also the humanitarian assistance scheme, what were the faults and merits of that? It's limited. It's limited and it was a lot of confusion about who actually could access that and whether businesses could access that. So we were left trying to clarify that as TDs, who could get it, how could they get it. And that's just one. Giving humanitarian assistance and giving assistance to businesses, that's just one, in my opinion, one segment of what should be a comprehensive plan. So be it if the actions don't need to be implemented, if the storm isn't as bad as we think. But at this point in climate change, we need to proactively plan. We need community centres able to function, health centres, the hospital. We need a plan in relation to generators and a priority list. One of the doctors made the point, no priority list for those most vulnerable to be accessed the quickest. Very good point there and obviously we have five people to speak to. So I just want, while we were talking about the humanitarian assistance scheme, maybe John, if you're still there, is that still available, John? Because I know there's people listening that might not even know about that. Yeah, absolutely, it's still available. And the forms can be either got online or they're available from the local intro office as well. And I think at the moment there are around 9,000 applications that have been made to the scheme. And absolutely, it's still available for people to make applications whenever they get an opportunity to do so. And there's limitations to that, is it means tested, anything like that, just in case people would ask questions? There were two separate schemes, I suppose. One was for food, clothing, emergency items that people might have had to record purchasing during the storm. And the second one was for if there was damage to your home or properties as a result of the storm. There were two separate schemes. Off the top of my head, one of them was means tested and one of them wasn't. I think the first one was means tested and the second one wasn't. Sorry, I didn't get that. The first one was means tested, that was emergency food and clothing. And the second one was for if the house insurance didn't cover damage to your house or property. That's means tested. But if you have house insurance, are you not entitled to any share in the humanitarian assistance scheme? John, maybe you might take that? Well, no, your first of course should be shared insurance scheme or your insurance policy. And like that, there is an element here of necessity for insurance companies to make sure that they meet the needs of their customers and that they provide cover for areas where their customers had a policy to cover it. But as this was an unprecedented event, John, I mean, would we? And I'm just thinking, I've asked our own insurance company about this. You know, we wouldn't have been covered for if we had to stay in a hotel or, you know, take on accommodation and all of that. Would the humanitarian assistance scheme cover people who weren't covered in their insurance? Yes, yes. The humanitarian assistance scheme will cover any loss that your insurance company didn't cover. But if it is a loss that is covered by your insurance policy, then you must claim from your insurance policy first. Well, that's reasonable. Isn't it, Gerry? That's OK. But I think it was a week later that the Minister announced the humanitarian aid coverage accommodation in a hotel if you had no power. And there was nobody in pay nor your number, your ESB number, if you had power or not. And you could claim it back. But that was announced a week later. There were a couple of issues with the actual explanation of the HES1 and the HES2, the means testers. The humanitarian assistance. Exactly, yes. And it's like, I suppose, a lot of things that come out when they come out in an emergency scene. They're put out fast. They're probably not explained. But it will cover anyone that has any issues with us. There's a green and purple form. We can give them assistance with filling them out. All the time. Just to say that humanitarian assistance is also able to do the flooding we had in Clifton before Christmas and back in 2020. That humanitarian assistance kicks in for those occasions as well. It's not just for the storms. We have to take a break, a quick break here. And we'll be back to you, Maria's father. I understand you have to leave a little bit earlier. So we'll come back to you in just two minutes. Don't go away. Join us then again. Job Spot on Connemara Community Radio. Connemara Credit Union are hiring. We are inviting applications for a full-time member services officer role within Connemara Credit Union. The successful applicant will join our team in providing an excellent service experience to our members. Full details of the role and how to apply are available on our website, connemaracu.ie. Deadline for applications is Friday the 28th of February. No application via social media will be accepted. Job Spot on Connemara Community Radio. It's wine o'clock with Norma Sheehan at Clifton Station House Theatre at 8pm on Thursday the 13th of March. Whatever drink you enjoy until Friday, whether it's sparkling water, a cosy cup of tea or something stronger, Norma is here to shake things up. Newly divorced and embracing life to the fullest, she believes 50 is the new 30. With a bold new attitude, she's checking off her fine options and saying yes to midlife adventures. A fun night out for all the girls. Tickets are 25 Euros. For more information and to buy tickets, go to cliftonstationhouse.com or call 095-21699. This show contains strong language and adult humour. Professional truck and bus drivers can now complete their driver CPC courses in Ballinrobe. Robe Training offer driver CPC courses in Ballinrobe weekly. Day and evening courses available. Contact Noel or Elaine on 087-3333-555 to book your place. Robe Training is an RSA award winning training organisation. You can find us on robetraining.ie. It's cashback time at Brodericks, Electrical, Castlebar and Westport where we want to put money back in your pocket. Along with our Spring Sale, two of our top brands, AEG and Electrolux, are running their biggest cashback offerings across their range of kitchen appliances. You can claim over 1,000 Euros back on a kitchen outfit with AEG and Electrolux appliances. So call in today and check out the full range of AEG and Electrolux kitchen appliances at Brodericks, Electrical, Castlebar and Westport. Clifton Supply Centre, Galway Road, Clifton. Provide building supplies, plumbing and heating supplies, fuel merchants, DIY and general hardware. Contact the Clifton Supply Centre on 095-214-76. Welcome back to the programme. Now, as I said, we have our full panel here, still panel on Zoom. We have our three TDs. Thank you so much indeed for staying with us. And we have Eileen and Gerry in the studio for the hour or so. And Kevin has his list of questions ready. So we'll go with you, Kevin. Maybe we could ask you to take Mairead for the next question. Yes, we ask people to get in touch with the radio show as usual. And myself and Carmel are people from the community. So we were getting stopped and asked questions whether we want them or not. So, you know, that's part of the fun of living in our community. I did have something there, Mairead. It was actually a colleague of mine who, on the Friday, had to drive. So the day after the storm, within 12 hours of the storm, had to drive on the N59 on the Friday. And it looked like a war zone. He had to actually, I think, near Rock to Rad, there were some trees down and there was a farmer letting people drive into his field and then back onto the N59. And we know the N59 can be difficult through, you know, times of the year with tourists on the roads or floods and everything else. So, Mairead, the question is probably something he came up with. Along that road, he met a lot of community people helping, you know, people in fluorescent jackets. Was this something, a job the Army could have been doing? Yeah, look, I think the most accurate description I've heard is that it was like a war zone because even, say, a week later, it felt like a war zone going out. And first of all, 100%, that is something that the Army could have been out helping with. And it was a situation whereby local people were out doing work that was incredibly dangerous too, you know, in terms of getting down or breaking down trees and all that kind of thing. And it really was a huge community response. But absolutely, you know, it was raised by my colleague, Martin Kenny, who's a TD in Leitrim, in the Dáil about the concept of, like, the Army should really have been out and assisting. Obviously, they can't do, say, certain jobs that, you know, the ESD or that needed to be done. But there was help that they could have absolutely been doing because, at the end of the day, it was an emergency situation, you know. The other thing you see in terms of trees and that, and I know this can be an issue in certain areas in terms of the trees falling on lines and all that kind of thing, and it was a piece of legislation that Martin Kenny, again, had brought in front of the Dáil there in the previous Dáil about, you know, that there would have to be the trees to be planted, say, at a certain distance from those kind of lines. And look, all of that is going to have to be looked at. But absolutely, it was a war zone, and it was in so many capacities. But it was also incredibly dangerous. And really, I have to say one thing, like, I mean, that more people weren't injured is really amazing. Yeah, I think that's a very good point. Because it was such a difficult, you know, period. And it does show that, like, you know, people took seriously the red warning nature of it, you know. Yeah, look, we know, obviously, that we had a fatality up in Donegal, poor lad, in a car. There have been fatalities of, you know, in the Goree region of people that were fixing roofs and doing bits like that. You know, I had a couple of crosswords of my own dad, who's a fantastic builder. I'm sure he was known by reputation as well from across, you know, trying to get him, I won't say what ages he is, I don't want to embarrass him, but trying to get him down from a ladder. But he knew that, you know, there's big winds coming on Saturday, and he knew he couldn't get anybody else. He had to do it himself. People will do that. They'll put themselves at risk to do these things. It would have been great to have, you know, these reports. We'll also nominate, I'd say, in time, with this community we live in, we don't know how many people are going to be affected by pneumonia or visits to the hospital or something else, the fact that they were seven days in a very cold house, not eating warm food. So where does this report come from, then, for all these things? Yeah, and look, I mean, this was something that a public health nurse had contacted me about, you know, that she had gone out to an older man, I think a man in his 80s, and she had said that she had felt warmer corpses because his house was so cold. And I think it was Catherine who had mentioned the whole fact that, like, we need to look at our vulnerable customers, like, you know, vulnerable people. And, you know, they talk about a vulnerable customer list, but really, in effect, it didn't work in this instance. And what we need to do, because, of course, I mean, I think it was my colleague, Carlos Conroy-Walsh, who had mentioned about one man who ended up dying because he didn't have access to a sleep apnea machine of a male, which is horrendous, you know, that by the time he got to his GP, he collapsed and he died, which is just an awful situation. So, you know, we need to be very cognizant of those vulnerable customers or people, you know, that we have. It's a vulnerable customer list, I suppose, as the AFB call it. But then we need to update that and look at what does it actually mean? Like, what do we mean when we have vulnerable people? What are we supposed to be doing to assist them? Because, again, that clearly didn't work here. So we really need to be looking at... And, look, it's also a thing of, like, looking at what works in other countries too, you know, because, you know, I always say, like, my mother is German, and in Germany there's some very, very rural, isolated places as well, and they could be very far away from anything. And what works there? So let's just try and get as much information that we can to try and get something that works well, because what has happened this time just hasn't been working. And, obviously, what you said about your father, like, it makes sense, you know? Yeah, not in a major way. Just to add into the fatality there, thanks be to God that, you know, there was a couple of people, unfortunately, that died and maybe a couple afterwards that repaired and removed from that. But I think, you know, thankfully this came as bad as it was. Again, at night time, I think if it was a daytime situation, I think we would be in a different zone with maybe people that would be in Tim. Chancellors had to go out and see the things that might have been happening. So, look, if it's any small consolation that it happened at night time, I think it, you know, may have saved lives as well. I think, was it? Eileen wants to come back in there. Sorry, Eileen. I have to come back to Catherine then, right? They just released 1559 there. 1559 is the national route. It was the priority of the county council to clear it, and I think they had planned in advance, because they had accepted military communication, so there was crews each side up in Clermare North. So, if one starts in Upturnard, they would start in Clifton and work their way in. But they could, like during the red warning, they could not go out. So, when the red warning lifted and the orange warning, they had to assess the problem. But only when the orange warning was lifted could they actually start to work. And they did the same thing from Clifton to the male border. They worked their way and left at some point. And they did get the 1559 cleared on day one, and they worked very hard to clear the regional roads and the local roads. But, you know, the most important thing is safety, because, you know, time, we can lose time, and we can lose food, and we can lose clothes. But to lose a life is irreplaceable. So, I think that's really important that people understand that as well. And I think that was so important that they cleared the main, our main artery from our area into Galway, into the emergency services and everything, that the N59, I mean, had to be the priority. And again, Eileen, like you're saying, I see the Army as assisting those guys. Well, absolutely. Of course, I mean, I absolutely agree. They should have been called out for that. Catherine? Yes. Sorry. We have a lot of people looking, you know, and a lot of the crews have left Connemara already, even though we still have wires down everywhere. We have people reporting to us, because they knew that we were going to do this program. As Kevin said, I've had people stopping me, telling me, what, wires down everywhere, they're tied to stakes and fences by the roadside. But it seems a lot of the crews, the emergency crews who were sent into Connemara to help, they seem to be, you know, they seem to be gone. Especially, I think especially, we still have air comm, but we don't have air comm. Obviously, we don't have enough staff to deal with what's expected right now after the storm. You see, we're dependent on people to tell us this, and your show, and your show is vitally important, because it's allowing for a reasonable and a rational discussion over the storm, what should have been done, and most importantly, what should be learned. So, we have the ongoing problems like you're highlighting, and indeed, I understand the windmill came down as well, very near the road, and that's another thing that we need to look at in terms, and I'm all for wind energy, but the nature of these storms raises serious questions now about the height of what's proposed, etc. And their locality as well, I think. I beg your pardon? And their locality, like where they're placed. Oh, absolutely, and how near they are to the coast, or how near they are to buildings, or road, and so on. So, lots of questions have been raised, and there are a number of things. One, the review is really important that the government is carrying out, that it would be carried out timely and published. Secondly, then, we have the role of the local authority, with the role of the TDs, of course, and the DAL, and we have the local authority as well, and what have they learned from this? What resources do they need to be prepared the next time? And so, there have to be lessons both locally and nationally, and really, the lessons that I've learned is from the people on the ground who've contacted me, people contacting my office, and again, the GPs, and it's unusual for GPs to speak out in such a manner, and they've not only spoken out, but set out what's necessary. So, arising from all of that, I would hope that we would learn, whatever word we want to use, it's not unprecedented to have lots of storms in the last number of years, and many flooding events, and indeed, in Galway City, if I just go back to Galway City, we've been planning flooding defences for a very long time now, and we've made little progress. Now, I understand that it's complicated, given the nature of Galway City and the docks, but just as an example, we were given a time span for the completion of those works, flood defences in Galway, and the price, nine million put on it, that's now gone to 50 million in Galway City alone, and then the coastal plan that I mentioned already, that hadn't even been touched upon. So, as a TD, all I can do is keep going, and try best to raise all these matters in the Dáil as best we can as TDs, regardless of which party we're in, and to ensure that really we learn from it, and this never happens again, and then to get a report from the local authority. Why is it taking so long? What feedback mechanism is there to the local, to the councillors, and to management about crews being removed from the area? Why are they being removed? When will they be put back? There should be a feedback mechanism for all of this, rather than ad hoc and reactionary. There seems to be a sort of a lack of communication in some places along the way. Sorry, I have to go back. Mairead, I have to let Mairead go, because she's gone. Oh, sorry, we've lost Mairead. Anyway, thank you, Mairead, for joining us on the programme. Sorry, Catherine, I didn't mean to interrupt you, but I knew that she had to go at 7.45, whatever. Sorry. But I'm coming back to you, John Connolly. Are you there? Yes. Good, thank you for staying with us. Now, my question again, you see, I'm always looking for money everywhere. That's my story of my life, and it's a long life, but I'm always looking for money for everything. But a question for you. Is there a proper compensation package for people who are left with damaged property? And I mean specifically business premises, businesses who have had such huge losses because of loss of their ability to trade, loss of their stock, which they've had to dump, and all of that. So is there a good, proper, substantial compensation package for those? You're the TDN government, so we expect a very positive answer from you. I'm afraid the response of the ministers that query Minister Peter Burke has been that, again, the first recourse for business should be to their insurance, and that many of the issues that arise should be covered by a business insurance cover. But people in business, yeah, maybe it's fine, the bigger the chains and all, that would have ample cover. But there would be a lot of smaller businesses, you know, the one-person business and that, and they may not have had the means, John, to develop or to have to have acquired an insurance that would cover all of these sort of occasions. So I think, you know, really, it's unfair to say that they should be able to cover themselves with insurance. No, I didn't say that. No, but I'm just saying it's my opinion that, you know, a lot will be left to them to say, you know, get on with it, your insurance, you should have insurance. I have the response of the minister here because I asked him the question directly, and his answer is, with regard to the issues of potential schemes to support businesses with losses arising from their own, businesses should first seek recourse through their insurance providers. The minister assured me that he has been engaging directly with representatives of the insurance industry and that Minister Peter Burke's understanding is that most losses incurred by businesses such as property damage, loss earnings and spoilage of stock fall within standard insurance and cover. However, he has committed to engaging with businesses to monitor updates in the National Emergency Coordination Group and local enterprise office. So he hasn't entirely ruled it out, but he has certainly made it plain to me in his response to my question that he sees most of the costs of damage, loss of stock, loss of earnings should be within standard, and that's his words, standard insurance cover. If they have it. Well, I would be surprised if businesses didn't have it, but, I mean, I'd assume most businesses would have insurance cover. Okay. Eileen. Thank you, John, and congratulations on your election and it's probably the first time we've been on local radio together and I wish you the best in your term. In relation to the business, I think businesses really in Cullamara have been suffering. I think before Christmas we had the snow and businesses were impacted then and they're impacted again. And, you know, we're very seasonal here and I just really think that some kind of goodwill gesture needs to be put in place for businesses and for everybody that was impacted. I think, you know, the COVID response was very, very good by the government and, you know, we all agree that the response here hasn't been great from the beginning. But I think a once-off payment should be made to all people who were impacted over the storm, you know, impacted by loss of power, loss of water, loss of connectivity. And I think, you know, over the years, there's been, even last year, there was credit given on your electricity bill, there's been extra social welfare payments, and I think the plan was they would be stopped. I think it's really, really important that the government look at doing something like that for people impacted over the last few weeks as a goodwill gesture. And to help me, because no matter who you are, everybody was impacted emotionally, financially by the storm in some way or other. And, you know, we haven't talked about the emotional toll on people. People, you know, without connectivity, without heat in their homes, yes, their neighbours calling, their family calling, but, you know, 24 hours is a long time to be without electricity, water, connectivity, never mind going into 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, then going on to 7 days, 8 days, into 15 and 18 days. I mean, when people contacted me saying their power was still out, and I think it felt so long since my power had been out, I just couldn't imagine how those people were coping with their pain. And I think it's really important that the government do put something in place as a goodwill gesture to help everybody. Good. Just to go back over the humanitarian assistance scheme, I think you might have mentioned it earlier on. We did. People can still access that. I know that's fair, John, but not everybody is happy applying for things like that. I think, you know, like they've done in the past with COVID payments and everything else, I think support should be put in place so that people who are impacted get something across the board. I think it's really important. I know I've been talking to John about this before previously as well, a week ago on that, and he did put the question to the Minister, and obviously that's the answer he's got back, and Senator Crowe as well has been pushing this. I suppose, where there is, and we have been affected, I suppose, in Claremont since October, November, December, and now January. So we are a good number of months without freezers, with freezers having to be emptied a couple of times. Insurance will go so far, but at the end of the day some people are telling me that a small business that it's the third time around we're just going to get rid of the stuff without going on to the insurance again. So I will be pushing John again on this and my colleagues to maybe bring up some sort of package, as Carmel said there, for the small business like the single shop or two. We are coming under pressure. So we will be pushing on that. Just on that, before we leave the point, I suppose it's important, and I've engaged with my own party colleagues and the other government party colleagues on the issue. As I said, Minister Burke hasn't completely ruled it out in his answer to my question. He has said that he will continue to engage with businesses and monitor updates from the National Emergency Coordination Group and local enterprise offices. He has also stated that the government are looking at this on a more long-term basis and that the programme for government includes the commitment to an extreme weather event assistance scheme designed to support affected households, farms and businesses. So that's a more long-term scheme. Whether when that is introduced, which the government have committed to introducing, it will retrospectively welcome applications from those who suffered during Storm Eoin. I can't say, but it would seem to me to be the proper thing to do. Thank you for that, John. We'll probably come back to it at a later stage when that government plan is published and we know what's in the future for us. We have an awful lot of questions anyway, people ringing in here on different items, but going through the questions, most of the questions are, again, on the lack of connectivity, the lack of broadband, the lack of their phones. A listener in Roundstone said, and I'll read it, what plans are there to future-proof against rural communities for being left without any connection to emergency services as storms became part of climate change? Now, a listener in Derry Gemla, much the same, they still, and these are messages this evening and today, John, they still have no phones or broadband. They've tried to call here many times but they don't answer the phone. Would like to know what is being done about it. Nobody is here to talk to about it. And a listener in North West Connemara, have there been any immediate policy changes to date in relation to this area? For instance, the communications service for the emergency services and generators being provided for networks and water plants for the future. Has there been any measures taken? Maybe you'll take that, John. Yeah, well, I think all of those issues are measured. I mean, the government are taking a review. In my own contribution to the DAWL following Stormy Owens, I asked that the DAWL Committee on Climate Change when it's established, would review the storm and that the lessons that need to be learned from that will be discussed with the agencies who are responsible for the provision of these services, so they being Irish Water, ESB and Air Communications. And just on air, you know, air about, I'd say it could be two weeks ago now. I'm not sure if your media, if your radio station covered it, but they they published a press release saying that they had rectified 80% of the outages in Galway. And I was continuing to get large quantities of people who were asking me about their own outages. So I contacted Air, and it was a bit of a slight of hand maybe. They said that what they had corrected was 80% of their primary infrastructure. So no more than the ESB. They have kind of a three phases of infrastructure. They have primary infrastructure, they have a transmission network, and then tertiary, I suppose, would be from there to your home. And what they had corrected was the primary infrastructure. Just on air as well, people are continuing to contact me, and I'm contacting Air on their behalf to seek an update as to when their service will be restored. They have advised me in the last day or two that they are providing mobile 5G modems to households who are affected. I'm not sure how they're doing that, but they've told me that they are doing that. But I'm very happy to continue to petition Air if people want to contact me. Great, okay. Now, we just have another message in from Tully. Just last week, or late last week, the clinic in Tully has no, they're coming in fast and furious here, the clinic in Tully has no phones or broadband. So they had no access to services for clients who would come to them. That's at the health clinic, not the political clinic, not at the health clinic in Tully. They had no connection to anywhere. So that was last week. So that really reflects what has happened out here. Now, I have an email Sorry, Eileen, do you want to come in on that? I think, as I said earlier, those health centres and doctor surgeries need to prioritise. And we talked about the Tetra system, which was supposed to be the be-all and end-all for emergencies, didn't work. Some people have Starlink, which is a satellite, so more people would get Starlink and those kind of satellite services. But again, going forward, this is what we need to do. Look at the health centres, the hospitals, all those things, and ensure that they have a service that can withstand storm damage, that is not reliant on that system. But when we get connected and we apply for our broadband, our phones, our mobile phones and everything, Eileen, we don't know the difference between Starlink and any other digital mass connection that we have there. So, you know, a lot of the regular, the plain people of Ireland, like myself, they don't know about Starlink. Is that an emergency? Do you know what I mean? Yeah, whatever. Sorry, Eileen, I just wanted to let the listeners know, I don't know if it's been announced, we are running a little bit later with the show anyway, so we've got a bit more time. I know Terence was in touch from the chamber who knows a lot about this kind of IT stuff, and I've gone to him plenty of times in the past with his knowledge. It's good listening to local people with the knowledge, so he said the network should be on independent power for at least 48 hours at least, so we saved that thing of, you know, this completely strange situation. This is the problem with all, I suppose, communications and other that deserve of communication in these days. When electricity goes, when the power line goes, be it in your house, be it up at Mass, be it at water plants, everything seems to be going with it instantly. So this is the problem. Back up. Back up, back up, back up, back up. Like, we had issues with Mass, where, you know, sometimes there's trees around them. I know of contacting air, so when staff went as far as them, they had to spend two days trying to get into the mess. So the situation like that, like, there's chance there for, you know, if we cannot get a generator to every Mass in the country, or every station, there's a chance there for solar and battery power to come into it as a backup. What I couldn't understand was, when the power came back on the Saturday evening, the first Saturday evening, the communications went. That's when it went, yeah. We were left in the dark. I want to come in here for one minute, because we are speaking, we're broadcasting on Connemara Community Radio. We unfortunately were left without our local radio because of the breakdown in system, and their system was destroyed. And they are now begging nearly for two generators, one here at the radio, and one at the Mass, which is in Tully. And our manager, really and truly, is stating the need, because we need our local radio, not just for this programme, but for all the connectivity, all week long, for everything. So, John, Catherine, and Maria has left us. If there's a way you can see to providing our radio with a bit of assistance at post-storm, we'll be waiting to hear back from you on that. Well, I think on that, you know, we've done a lot of discussion about the learning from this. I would say that one of the things that will come out of the learning is that there is a necessity to immediately set up the type of hubs we've seen set up in the days after after Stormeo. And, you know, who knows where exactly the locations they will be, but I would expect that communities will be asked to come forward to say, look, we have a particular facility in our community, a particular community, particular premises, that we feel is one that would be suitable to be used in such situations. And I would see that, you know, the studios we have there and proximity to other community development or community buildings would be ideal for that. And so, look, I would say that that's something the future will be looking to in the future. You can look into it then, John. Thank you, John. That's very important. John, my day job would be manager at Clifton Town Hall, when I'm not here, co-presenting with Carmel and we set up an emergency hub. One of the, you know, areas mostly affected now is down in Roundstone and all around there in Clegg and then they're all into us for days and days, trying to get things done. One of the people who actually came into me that time, good local person, Christina Lowry, was in touch with the show there to say that there's no proper plan to support the people of Roundstone, no landlines, power or water. The plan should be put in place. Generators should be put in place and ballon hinges are very unsafe in reference to trees. We're getting bits in every moment here through the door. We have another one here. A concerned listener from Cashel states that the two telegraph poles lean in since before Christmas, so this is way before we'd all ever heard of it, Storm Ewan, and the subsequent storms have had them leaning from one side to the other. One is on the road back near the pier. The other one on the main road near the school is something going to be done before they fall on a car and someone gets killed. I'm not sure if Gerry or Eileen. Gerry, come in there please. I suppose after Storm I think was burped back in November I think it was, I contacted Ayr. I contacted them a couple of times but I got back on to them again at that stage to rectify, start rectifying some of these situations with poles, cable, stay wires that were actually flapping out all over the place. I've got no response really of any consequence back. Mainly I suppose due to the fact that in Connemara at the moment we have no local crews to be on the ground when this is happening. This really didn't happen overnight. This happened in the last 10 years. It's coming for the last 10 years and winter by winter we've seen the progression of the lines falling apart and unfortunately the perfect storm came and wiped everything but we need to get staff on the ground in the area that can get out and maintain these lines. I mean at the moment we're probably looking at a situation where like the ESB Ayr bring in staff if it needs to be from other countries, spend about a year in Connemara tidying up their lines maintaining their lines and upgrading their lines because we have now a situation where we're putting broadband fibre optic up on poles and we're putting them up on an existing infrastructure that is actually falling, leaning one way, leaning the other. I've even seen a few new poles that have gone up recently for the broadband programme the National Broadband Ireland Programme and they're actually falling, swaying over the wind so I mean that doesn't... I know we've talked about this Gerry, there was a very good article in the Irish Times this weekend about a storm that hit Sweden 20 years ago. They had 700 homes without power, very similar to us probably less than us their wind speed wasn't as high as what we got they unfortunately ended up with 18 deaths but they had something like 250 million trees fell in Sweden and they just went burying underground is that even a possibility? It will probably have to be I mean there's going to be more technical people here I suppose from the likes of Ayr or that to discuss you know unfortunately Connemara there's a lot of rock in it may make it a bit difficult to get underground all the way but I think really if their infrastructure isn't built to a standard that can withstand these gales and storms over the next 20 years this is now an emergency it's a 20 year plan or a lifetime plan but probably a 20 year plan you know you'd have to look and the same like happened that example we were talking about Sweden in 2005, like where that storm wiped the country I mean they had no other choice at that stage but to plan for the future and they actually put I think 300,000 kilometers of cable underground and I'm sure Sweden isn't exactly you know it's probably geographically a bit like Ireland From my own research Ireland isn't even in the top 10 in Europe of the worst isolated areas, Sweden Finland, Estonia, Belarus there's loads of countries that have people often say we have this ribbon effect and it was bad planning these houses out in the middle of nowhere there's always been houses out in the middle of nowhere because of the farming and the way we've done things as a rural environment so it has to be the option now if And with that thing we're talking about in Sweden they buried all the utility cables they don't have the internet, they don't have the water I know it's a massive massive undertaking but maybe that is the solution to where it can be done it probably can't be done in all places But at the end of the day cost really shouldn't be the factor that decides how they do things, it should be effectiveness for as you said going forward for things like this. There's one thing Eileen we touched on earlier on and it's about I call it centralisation like in Clifton as we said and in Connemara we don't have a direct ESB crew whatever I mean I know for a fact like if you need to get a telegraph or an ESB port it has to be delivered from Galway by Lorry with a special crew they don't, there are no technicians on the ground, very few of them, they've you know retired or been, so I think centralisation of our services has been detrimental to Connemara really, maybe you take that Catherine I have Michael, I should have forgotten about me. Oh I'm so sorry I've been trying to get back to you I'm listening carefully, I'm just on my way back into the door to speak but look we have an extra 10 minutes so we the technician gave us an extra, we have an extra 7 minutes, no I was listening carefully I thought maybe the power was down sorry I think we have no choice I'm repeating what to learn from this, the government was ill prepared for it, the local authority wasn't prepared for it, and so we need to learn how we be prepared the next time we need short term measures and certainly the government were good as Eileen has said already in relation to COVID and I think we should look at that short term by way of compensation, obviously the insurance companies who make a fortune can get off the hook and they have to be part, to play their part but in a more medium to long term we need to plan for a changed climate and we need to look at balanced regional development and stop being lip service to it, and so part of the solution in relation to climate change is to develop rural areas in a sustainable manner and to do that we need to do it realistically and that is not happening it's happening ad hoc and yes things are centralised all the time rather than empowering local communities and once again the people have shown us, like they have with climate change, that they've shown us their resilience, we need to build on that, that's what we need to do and we're not doing this and we do that by resourcing the local authorities, having a forum and a feedback mechanism so they know how to change for the next time and what resources they need from central government we could go around in churches all night with what has happened and it's absolutely awful what has happened and people left to fend for themselves, but I would like to think we could learn from it so that we would be better prepared on the next and certainly a radio a functioning radio and a functioning emergency telephone service are absolutely essential along with a priority list for vulnerable people, patients who are in received medical treatment at home and so on, I haven't seen any evidence that that was done that was done by the community on the ground so that's what I would like to see changing arising from this discussion and arising from the debacle of in preparation for the storm. And on that note thank you so much indeed for joining us this evening Catherine and thank you for your patience in waiting an hour and eleven minutes to talk to us we really do appreciate, I hope the community listening take some message from us that we are looking forward to what can be done in the future with your help and all of our public representatives thank you for joining us tonight on the Community Matters Program Now we just have two minutes left three minutes maybe we'll steal another one from Cat so I'm going back to and I'll let you go John John Connolly is still online, is that alright? Thank you indeed for joining us, have you a message for John? Have you a message for John? Jerry, oh no I thought you wanted to I'll come back to you he wants to talk to me, okay I'm so sorry John, thanks a million for joining us this evening on your first my first interview with you on the Community Matters Program I hope it won't be the last, you'll always be available to talk to us I'm sure like your predecessor and as you said Catherine Connolly finished there by saying going forward decentralization is probably the way, she didn't say it in so many words but we'll be hoping for that I suppose the one aspect of the whole thing I wasn't directly asked about myself are the particular learnings, and you know many of them have been mentioned already, one that hasn't been mentioned, and I think it's a significant learning, is the management of trees I'm looking forward to getting the final report from the ESB when they review each and every thought that they had they had over 10,000 thoughts 4,000 of which the rectification of that thought only brought one home back onto the system so look, I'm looking forward to that and I think that we'll get a clear indication to exactly what caused each fault, and there is a perception, and I concur with this that many were caused by trees that hadn't been managed correctly and appropriately and they fell and had an impact on While John is there, could I just Sorry, thank you Carmel and sorry John, but a question that has been raised with me, and it's difficult for clarification, I think the Minister needs to make a statement on this, is Which Minister is it, sorry? I think it is Minister I'm trying to think of his name now It's related to the tree cutting and hedge cutting so the season finishes at the end of February, and there's still a lot of trees that are in a very dangerous position and overhanging I just, you know, can I know that people can cut down trees if they're a danger to the public The one thing I know Then you need to be kind of, if you're you know, if you're before the court you have to show or prove that, and I don't think that burden of proof should be on somebody who's trying to, I suppose, clear trees and trying to try to ensure that for the next storm they're gone, I think it's actually Minister James Brown, probably Minister for Housing and Local Government and Heritage, I think that's probably the Minister responsible, I do think it's important that there's clarity on that so people can continue The price of cutting trees Eileen, as well It should be supported There's one impediment There's no legislative impediment at any time on the East Beach cut trees I know, and so have the local authority for road building but this is individuals who are finding it difficult to get people in to cut the trees, there's a huge demand but if you're driving around certain areas like, as a matter of fact, Bannerhenge in Shropshire Yard, it is frightening there's trees leaning over and they need to be cleared as a matter of urgency never mind all the trees along that need to be done long term before the winter I think something needs to be a statement needs to be made to assure people that they can carry out that work without fear of being prosecuted And there are trees with wires going through them and there are wires hanging all over Connemara, and they don't look, I mean, aesthetically they don't do anything for our, when somebody comes in and sees our services and they're part of our infrastructure and they're not So, John, thank you so much indeed for joining us this evening and staying with us for the program, and we will talk to you again soon, okay, bye-bye for now Thank you, John Now, we have one minute, can I go back to my guests for one minute Jerry is there anything from the hour and 15 minutes that we've spent talking that you think has come forward as what we should be doing not us, but as you, Jerry King, and as you Eileen Mannion, and as RTDs should be doing together to protect us further in the future There's no doubt that we're in the middle of an emergency here The storm is over, it's gone never to be seen again in anyone's lifetime, but around the corner is going to come the next, with the system and the infrastructure broke the way it is, the next bit of a storm is going to do the same thing in some area What have we learned? There's one way forward out of this It's a multi-agency coordination, and I think, you know, instead of somebody coming on television in Dublin saying there's a storm on the way that we all, they can say that I think this has to be worked down to the local system down into the communities where the communities but we have to have investment in the main infrastructure in the country, there is no doubt about that there's nothing else to be learned out of this and that is immediate Eileen I'm just watching the clock Your final point on what? We learned a lot We already knew a lot before we came here but a lot needs to be done, and I think there's a new government in place they weren't prepared for the storm but I think now they need to get their act together and put everything in place like Irish Water announced today 100 generators, that's fine for County Galway I know what they're doing, there's generator purchase, they're purchasing some generators and then generator ready, so for instance a lot of the problems is getting the generator and then getting it wired in, which is called the lathe so we're looking at wiring in generators like for here, like for all the waste, all the treatment plants for water that need electricity to supply the water, that needs to be put in place but also the health centres, vital for people and communication my communication was gone on the morning of the Friday morning of the storm and I was going crazy I had no phone, no radio, I looked out the window I actually my mum had a transistor radio and I had it in the press, and I bet there's batteries in there because mum was always organised, not the rest of her and I turned on the transistor radio and I was able to get some coverage somewhere but it would be better if it was local coverage, know what's going on locally so I think it's vital that the radio, and that's something I learned tonight, it's vital that this radio has generators and is able to provide that service to people, let people know what's happening I look at it, I just say it tightly too, all the services the ESB, all the crews, the local authorities, Forum Kilomara did a great job local communities come together and like down in Cardiff they put a community hub together before the local authority had planned them and I think to plan the work the community hubs for the future have the word in a generator ready to go have the communications ready to go and not to find ourselves in the position we were in the last few weeks Just finally, I'd like to second that there, and all that was done locally absolutely brilliant, but we will, I know I will be pushing my practice members hard on getting that report done ASAP and leaving out from that ASAP because we cannot come back here in a year's time and say, you know, was there anything at all done? As the manager of Kittentown Hall I will maybe we could do a radio show from there sometime in the future and have everybody that we could present make it a nicer time to travel and we'll make sure that this isn't just lost in the airwaves I think that's what I said earlier, before Christmas we were on our own but now, it's nationwide it's a whole government response we have multi-agency meetings every second day, I think the All-Country Council, the Fire Services the ESB we get together every second day there's a government response as well, the ministers are coming together so I think, you know, we're not on our own which is a good thing, and I think we will get it won't be forgotten about and we'll have you both back here and hopefully our GD back, as you said in a year's time, certainly before then for other matters and all along the year. Thank you so much indeed for joining us tonight and contributing so much to the debate and the program and as you said, going onwards we'll be looking for more and we'll be hoping that your pressures on our government and GDs and that will prove fruitful for you and for us all Kevin Thank you so much indeed for joining me this evening, you took a big weight off my shoulders, it was lovely having you. Well thanks to you Camilla and for both shows, you came out of your winter hibernation to come in and help out in the studio with the wonderful Gráinne on the desk Yeah, thanks a million to our producer Breeje O'Malley, who has worked very hard all week to get the people on that she did Thanks to Mary Farty who stayed on after her own program for an hour and thanks to Pat out there who's making the tea and thank you to Gráinne as usual on the desk a life saver when things go wrong, she's always here but that's from us all for this evening Thank you for listening and bye bye