A local councillor has put forward a number of emergency motions that will assist with the aftermath of Storm Eowyn. Cllr Sinead Flynn told members of Monaghan County Council that "lessons must be learnt" as she expressed her concerns at this week's sitting of the local authority. Some of the motions include the allocation of emergency funding towards local authorities to assist with the clean-up and repair of infrastructure and for all capital infrastructure approved from now on to include provision for a backup power generator and current buildings providing essential services to receive funding for the installation of a backup power generator.
In addition to this, Cllr Flynn says we need to "increase resilience and investment" to our infrastructure, and this proves we need to be undergrounding our power cables. As a result, she is calling for additional funds to allow investment in local electric and water infrastructure to ensure there is built resilience, so that people don't have to face this situation again. She told Northern Sound; "We need to increase resilience and investment to our infrastructure, and this proves we need to be undergrounding our power cables. We had homes without power and water for 15 days, small businesses had to close their doors, students unable to study for exams, elderly and vulnerable at home with no way of charging medical devises or stairlifts, residential group homes had to move to hotels.
"The issues we need addressed without delay, involve trees hitting electric wires and cables & whether they will be cut down before the next storm, will public reservoirs be equipped with generators so the next power cut doesn’t affect our water supply and whether trees that overhang the road verges will be removed to make our roads safe again. With all that in mind, we need to seek additional emergency funding to cover the total cost of the clean-up and we demand a strategic plan be implemented to ensure power is restored more efficiently in the event of a future storm. We need investment and preventative measures to be put in place to ensure that going forward we have minimal disruption in severe weather conditions."
