The capacity to rapidly put in place more than 400 “emergency response hubs” in communities across Ireland to withstand future storms is progressing well, according to Keith Leonard, chair of National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG).
The facilities, known as humanity hubs, will be critical to building sufficient resilience on the ground in the face of the increasing threat of more intensive storms, and will be run with the support of local volunteers and sports groups, he told TDs and Senators.
The hubs will be provided basic needs such as water, hot food, phone charging and broadband access to affected communities, while the process of acquiring 93 power generators for use in hubs was ongoing, he said.
At a joint meeting on Wednesday of the Oireachtas Climate, Environment, Climate and Energy and Housing, Local Government and Heritage Committees, TDs and Senators praised emergency services on how they responded to Storm Éowyn last January. It caused unprecedented destruction including damage to the country’s electricity network and water supply systems.
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Many members, however, criticised a lack of co-ordination between agencies; the failures of critical communications systems, the slowness of the response in the worst-affected areas and insufficient preparedness given the increased likelihood that extreme weather events, exacerbated by climate change, will hit Ireland.
Storm Éowyn prompted nationwide red wind warnings and triggered the activation of the NECG. Impacts were widespread and extremely damaging as 768,000 electricity customers lost power, some for up to three weeks.
Asked by Deputy Malcolm Byrne how likely were such storms in the near future, Mr Leonard said they were classified in the national risk register as “likely and severe”.
“We expect six to 12 mid-level storms in any given season,” he added.
ESB Networks managing director Nicholas Tarrant said the provision of backup generators was a matter for other State agencies, utilities – such as Uisce Éireann – and critical infrastructure providers. “Our role is to restore electricity as quickly as we can,” he added.
The ESB had commissioned two reports after the storm to evaluate international practices in responding to such storms and on how best to address “forest wind blow” which brings down power lines, given higher wind speeds were likely in the future. The critical need in building power line resilience was being able to put in place “forestry corridors on a statutory footing”.
A “forestry corridor” would be an area within a given distance of the electricity network, where forestry vegetation and related activities can be restricted by law.
The committees heard key corridors stretching over 700km had been identified and the required supporting legislation was likely to be in place in 2026.
Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae said he believed it was reasonable that there should be “no tree withing falling distance of a road or wire”, as was the policy in other countries.
Kieran Kehoe, chair of the Corporate & Emergency Planning Committee with the County and City Management Association, said trees were an important part of the beauty of the Irish landscape and it was not feasible to cut down every tree that could fall on a road, while most trees in such locations were in a healthy condition.
Green Party Senator Malcolm Noonan said the felling of trees in urban areas was increasing flooding risk in an era of more extreme weather events, when nature-based solutions should be scaled up.
