'If this storm came during the day there would have been serious fatalities'

Castlebar councillors have called for an emergency plan to be put in place for future storms.

The carnage caused by Storm Éowyn was discussed at a meeting of Castlebar Municipal District last Wednesday.

“We still have a large number of people in our community suffering at the moment due to a lack of power and water," said Cllr Harry Barrett. "People in Parke, Glenisland, and even in Sion Hill, pockets of people who still have no power. 

"I’d like to think that we would come together and have a plan in place for the next storm. This one caught everyone off guard in terms of planning and providing the supports people need.

“We are going to need to have an emergency plan in place so we can have locations throughout this municipal district and countywide where people know they can go in an emergency situation to access power, water, a hot meal and heat.

“We are all getting calls where people are begging for electricity at this stage. It’s harrowing to hear,” he added.

“What I have seen right throughout this area is devastation,” remarked Cllr Blackie Gavin.

“Thank God that storm didn’t come during the day or there would have been really serious fatalities,” said Cllr Michael Kilcoyne.

Electricity and telecommunications infrastructure came in for sharp criticism. A failure to deal with rotting trees and trees located close to power lines came back to bite the county, councillors contended.

“The infrastructure associated with telecom and ESB is woefully inadequate,” said Cllr Al McDonnell, adding that telegraph poles are rotting and ESB wires cross problematic terrain.

“95% of the problems created over the disaster of the last six days were due to trees - trees falling on wires. That should never have been the case. Trees should not be allowed to stand taller than the wires,” said Cllr McDonnell.

“It was gross negligence,” he stated. "Two years ago I called on the council to remove the ivy from trees. It was choking trees. But it never happened. Now the trees are rotting and falling over when the storm comes,” added Cllr Kilcoyne.

Councillors said new planning regulations banning the building of chimneys in new homes created major problems when the storm hit.

"What about the new planning regulations that don’t allow the construction of a chimney in a new house?" asked Cllr McDonnell. "Young families were forced to leave their houses and go back to their parents and grandparents who had an open fire or a stove or the children would freeze to death."

Councillors praised the efforts of council outdoor and municipal district staff, ESB crews and local communities. However, Cllr Donna Sheridan said she was left disappointed by the lack of communication from senior management at Mayo County Council level.