Councillors had 'no power' after Storm Éowyn

It wasn't just householders who were left without power after Storm Éowyn. Councillors in the Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District have said they were powerless to influence affairs in the aftermath of the devastating storm and have vowed that it cannot happen again.

Cathaoirleach Damien Ryan suspended standing orders at last week’s municipal district meeting to urgently discuss the fallout from the storm, which occurred on January 24 but has left people in some areas of Mayo without power for over two weeks.

Cllr Ryan said public representatives need to be put back at the centre of local affairs and must be able to discuss priority situations with key stakeholders in times of emergency.

“Now is the time to set up a public body with public representatives at the centre. We need direct access to those who are the decision-makers,” he said. “We should have the ability to be able to prioritise in urgent cases and we won’t let this pass without us getting the proper procedures in place.” 

Cllr Ryan also condemned the head of the ESB, Paddy Hayes, for comments he had made earlier in the week suggesting that customers will see their bills increase in the future due to the storm.

Cllr Michael Burke said they have to ensure there is major reform and greater preparation for the future.

“This cannot happen again. We need to get a group together for when this type of thing happens and it will happen again,” he said.

“We have a lot of work to do for a small country. There are a lot of people very hurt and sore about this and we need to get our act together and it starts with coordination at the top.” 

Cllr Alma Gallagher said the storm lasted six hours but its impact would be felt for weeks to come.

“There was a lack of local information available. We are hearing that the number without power is coming down but that is a cold comfort to those still without power,” she said. “It is time to waive the felling licence to enable people who are willing to cut trees themselves and trees within a 25-metre radius of phone lines should be removed.” 

Cllr Adrian Forkan supported Cllr Gallagher’s calls for an "amnesty" on tree felling and said he encountered "untold anger" from people in his area who were in seriously difficult circumstances.

“There has to be serious investment put in by the ESB on the ground. There was no way to contact the ESB, we got told to use an app that is about as useful as the electric kettle when the power is out.

“People with new-build houses with underfloor heating ran completely off electricity were left without any heat because they weren’t allowed put open fires or chimneys into their home.” 

Cllr Patsy O’Brien said councillors had been "thrown in at the deep end" by the executive of Mayo County Council.

“We hadn’t an iota of what was happening and we were left on our own to ensure that everything was looked after for people.

“We only got one email from our Director of Services Tom Gilligan the entire time. I’m calling on the county manager to put something in place like an emergency team for these situations.” 

Cllr Richard Finn further condemned Mr Hayes' comments and criticised the need for felling licences in this situation.

“The ESB made €800 million profit in 2023 and now want to put the costs of this back onto the customer to hold onto their profits,” he said. “How do you need a felling licence to cut trees that are already on the ground? The idea of a felling licence is just to get people to pay extra to do the work.” 

Cllr Gerry Murray said councillors had become the "whipping boys" for things they had no control over and called for national politicians to have serious discussions about nationalising the electricity supply industry.

“We need democratic control of our major utilities. There is no money there for real infrastructure upgrades and the deficit is likely in the billons rather than millions,” he said.

Cllr Deirdre Lawless said she wanted further clarification on the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme and councillors agreed to write to the Department of Social Protection about it. She also criticised the lack of communication between the council executive and councillors.

“I was wondering why I got no calls, I was wondering if they just didn’t have my number,” she said. “We were slow to respond with the community response hubs. We knew the storm was coming and yet it took three or four days after to set them up. We should have got generators to the main towns and community centres.” 

Cllr Neil Cruise called for a grant aid scheme to assist elderly people who do not have the means to afford to remove fallen trees from the vicinity of their homes and said national bodies such as the ESB and Coillte, as well as phone companies like Eir and Vodafone, need to "bow their heads" over this situation.

Members praised the outdoor and indoor staff of Mayo County Council and staff from the major utilities working on the ground to restore power and water.

Director of Services Tom Gilligan said it was a trying period and he would take the councillor’s concerns to the council chief executive Kevin Kelly.