Michael Fitzmaurice: Demands action on storm response and tree rules

Thanks Chair for allowing me in. I agree with Sean O'Donnell that we are not ready. I think the only thing we have, guys, if we call a spade a spade, is one report out and a few meetings. The facts are, and at the Department of Housing or the Environment, I just ask one question. Why haven't you liaised with the Department of Agriculture? There's 2,640 hectares of trees sown since that storm. Some of them are under wires. They're within 5 metres and 10 metres of it. Why haven't you made sure that there's a change in the regulation to that? That's the first question. In relation to the SB, I would put it to you that in Gareth's in my area, we've really suffered in Rascamang, Nysgolwa. Temporary jobs has been done. You have gone down the road of Irish water. This is the problem with the SB. You've gone down the road of having three or four suppliers around the country that will cut your trees or do your work. You do not want 10 or 20 in each county. You should go back to that and each area put out where you can get contractors rapid. We offer diggers to you. The electricity was gone for 16 days. With insurances, with everything, people offered diggers because people were desperate in our areas. But no, you have to have this course, that course and the other course. I agree with courses, but why weren't they done all this summer? Ten months now and we're basically coming into a season again where in our area, Gareth and myself, we've been without electricity twice since with two more storms. Throw our hands up in the air. The SB needs to change their attitude. In the line of the councils, I heard you, Mr. Keogh, stating on the report, it says roadside trees need to be brought down under the levels of wires. And we also know about forestry. 85% to 90% of our provinces in that. What price do you put on a life? You said that you didn't believe that roadside trees could be good, they could be healthy or whatever. What price would you put on a life? Because I believe, and I think the department should get involved in this, that we saw two trees for every tree we cut to make sure that we have every box ticked. But that makes sure people's lives are more important than having a roadside tree that we talk about our greenery and whatever, in my opinion. And in relation to councils, I think one thing needs to be admitted here. The councils, all their staff was kept in because of health and safety. The storm was well gone. It was local communities. I've done it myself with a digger because every road was blocked. We got loadalls out. We got teleporters out. And the reason that that happened was, it was the following day, it was five o'clock to six o'clock in the evening, before councils were let out. Fine. Use the health and safety thing. But there was lorry drivers moving food around this country that couldn't get for me to be. And it was local communities. And I would ask the Department of Environment to liaise with the councils to have a backup team in each district or in each area of community people. Because that's what done it. Let's call a spade a spade. That's what got people rolling in rural areas. I would ask, why wouldn't she put a team together that the council could ring and say, will ye get out there? Will ye get out there? And put a bit of coordination into it rather than people slaving everything and delivering everything. Okay. Thank you. Department first on the agriculture side, regulations. Start with that. Okay. And I suppose it's important to say, you know, I can't speak in detail to policy around the planting of trees, that is the Department of Agriculture. What I can say is the Department of Agriculture fully participated. And we did have detailed discussions with them throughout the review. And it is a piece that they're looking at. And again, as I say... Storms are lended again. And as I say, if it would be useful to bring the Department of Agriculture in, they could probably give a much more detailed account of the policy pieces and the implementation that they're doing there. Again, I'm going to hand over to Ciaran, but I think Ciaran did make a point about communities and particularly with the agricultural contractors, which was a huge enabling piece during the response both to the severe cold weather and in the storms. And I think it's a very positive piece to take forward. Okay, Ciaran. Thank you. Firstly, in relation to the trees, I didn't in any way, Deputy, question the value of a life in relation to a tree. I didn't. And I'd rather that it wouldn't be assumed as such. What I did say is that we have a phenomenal amount of healthy trees and it's part of our country here. And if a tree is healthy and at risk of fall, it shouldn't be taken out just because of proximity to a road, in my view. Because then there's no risk to life from that tree. In relation to the response, I have to clarify and correct you, Deputy, sorry. As the person in charge in relation to range in response both nationally and locally for the local authorities. From the Monday we were advised when this was happening. We had crews waiting for, as I explained in my opening statement, waiting for the red warning to go. The red warning to go. And every local authorities' crews mobilised within one hour of that red moving with. Five o'clock indeed. One second. Sorry, Deputy. Wait a minute, please. That is factually incorrect because I know from dealing with my colleagues in Roscommon, in Longford and all across the country. I'm talking about Galway. And Galway. At five o'clock in the evening is with the word out. Because that's... Where is it wrong, Ed? No. It was 11 to 12 o'clock. It wasn't. It wasn't. So what I'm very, very, very sure of and very sure of the facts is that every local authority, once the red goes, we mobilised. And we did mobilise. Within 24 hours, the bulk of the roads in this country were clear. Hold on a second. The only ones that weren't clear were the very local roads and up into the access, up into the forestry. And we worked and supported the ESV in getting access to them. In relation to bringing in contractors, I did actually mention already, Deputy, before you came in here, in relation to... I personally rang Agricultural Contract Association to mobilise, exactly as you have said, people with those machinery, with those skill sets, with those training, to work. And I do acknowledge the huge work done by the communities all across the country. And the country is dependent on it and will always be dependent on it. And that is what Mehal is, that's what community is. And we support that fully in the local authorities and will always do so. Okay, Coley. Just to add, yet again, like there was a training event yesterday for local authority staff in Portlaoise. I was at it. There was 140 local authority staff, civil defence officers, fire officers, all preparing for severe weather assessment teams and for flooding for the season ahead. So, like, we are working on this. We work on this constantly. You know, we are prepared for it constantly. Our staff are ready for it constantly. So it's unfair to say that there's nothing more than a report. And like, as Ciarán said, the Monday before, we meet daily. We engage with staff. We communicate. Listen to Sean O'Donnell. Sorry, Deputy. Can you let the speaker finish, please? Yet again, Deputy, earlier on, Sean pointed out the support that he got from Galway County Council, including provision of a generator. So, like, yet again, local authorities are doing everything we can on a consistent basis to help local communities in the moment of storms. Okay, ESP. Firstly, Deputy, just I want to acknowledge in your own constituency and areas nearby where there were some of the worst affected. And as you say, with forestry in the area in particular, there's been a number of power outages in those areas. It's an area, going back to the winter plan and our overall plan around resilience and, you know, the need for statutory, a statutory basis for forestry corridors. It's with those local communities in mind that we're making those recommendations. And on your point about our resources, I think at the peak of the storm restoration effort, and it was concentrated in the northwest, we had about 3,000 people deployed with 60 contracting organizations, about 650 people in from other jurisdictions to help with specialist people, not maybe the type of resources you're talking about with diggers, but just in general, and the response to be able to get that type of resource in such a short period of time to help and help support our own people and that contractor base. And I think it's important to say it, you know, 60 contracting organizations did support us during the storm. And just on your overall point about local contractors versus national, like ESB networks over time has moved in general more towards the bigger contractors for some of the reasons that you're talking about around the safety requirements, you know, the changes in legislation, the training. And, you know, we deploy those contractors, you know, to support us during the storm. Now, I can't maybe particularly comment on very specific local cases around, you know, offers of support, but we tried to do everything we could to deploy as many resources as possible to get customers back as quickly as we could. Okay. Thank you. John Connolly. Thank you.