CONCERNS have been raised with the Council in relation to storm preparations and emergency response planning in rural County Limerick.
Speaking at this month’s full meeting of Limerick City and County Council (LCCC), Fine Gael councillor Liam Galvin reminded the council executive of the heavy snowfall and freezing conditions in January this year, where temperatures dipped as low as -6 and -8.
The widespread snow and frosty conditions hit the entirety of the county, he recalled, with some areas getting up to two feet of snow, with people trapped in their homes without food, heating and necessary medical supplies.
“In January, in matter of fact I rang the Mayor, and I was knee deep in snow one day, as I was out helping a neighbour. Generally, I did have great concerns around what was happening in rural West Limerick,” Cllr Galvin confessed.
“The response I have got in relation to cleaning the footpaths, by God, that’s the least of our worries in the countryside, I can assure you of that. Director-General, I’m specifically putting it on your shoulders today, if an event happens like what happened last January in the rural part of County Limerick, I can put up with snow on a footpath, and I think a lot of people will, once they can get to the shop and it is manageable.
“I have to acknowledge the road crews and the tremendous work they did. Unfortunately, they can’t get to all the roads and for the person living in off road, they cannot access the public road unless they have a tractor or a 4×4. There were people inside in houses, cold and hungry. There were people with medical needs, whether it was oxygen or medication, food or heating.”
Cllr Galvin went onto call for a specific emergency number to be set up for the elderly, people with disabilities or people with medical need in rural areas during extreme weather conditions.
“All I’m asking is that we have a specific emergency number where someone can pick up the bloody phone and say, ‘I need oxygen’, I need hot water’, ‘I need food’. That’s all I’m asking for. What happened nationally was not good enough to serve the people of rural Ireland,” he insisted.
Independent Councillor Elena Secas supported Cllr Galvin’s call for an emergency response, but felt it was also relevant to urban areas, including housing estates in her own electoral area of Limerick City East.
“We had people who could not get out of of housing estates because the roads were not treated and some people missed important medical appointments, and sometimes that could be a matter of significant importance,” Cllr Secas commented.
Director-General of LCCC, Dr Pat Daly told council members that they do “rehearse” ahead of extreme weather fronts and also took onboard the points in relation to an emergency hotline number.
“We have a routine that we follow when storms are to happen, and that is pretty rehearsed. But each storm is getting more intense, it’s getting longer, it’s getting more aggressive, and we just have to keep learning from that,” he said.