Carol Nolan demands action over AIR response after storm
Carol Nolan spoke about the aftermath of a recent storm, praising local authority and ESB workers while raising concerns about emergency planning. She criticised the semi-state company AIR for poor response and urged the minister to intervene to protect vulnerable people, including pensioners reliant on oxygen and alarmed phone lines.
Nolan commended workers in local authorities and ESB staff who worked in dire conditions to restore power. She highlighted community centres and the farming community for stepping up with practical support.
Nolan said families contacted her about people with special needs and pensioners on oxygen who faced the risk of units running out. She argued that support systems must be backed up and that planning for medical dependencies is urgently needed.
Nolan criticised AIR, a semi-state company, for a lack of efficiency, professionalism and response to urgent situations. She gave examples from her constituency, saying a pensioner in a remote area dependent on a phone line and alarm system has had no follow-up and that her constituency office still has no phone line weeks after the storm despite repeated contacts.
Nolan called on the minister to intervene with AIR to secure a more efficient response and to ensure vulnerable residents in remote areas receive timely support and follow-up.
Praise for frontline workers
Nolan commended workers in local authorities and ESB staff who worked in dire conditions to restore power. She highlighted community centres and the farming community for stepping up with practical support.
Concerns about medical vulnerability
Nolan said families contacted her about people with special needs and pensioners on oxygen who faced the risk of units running out. She argued that support systems must be backed up and that planning for medical dependencies is urgently needed.
Failures of AIR reported
Nolan criticised AIR, a semi-state company, for a lack of efficiency, professionalism and response to urgent situations. She gave examples from her constituency, saying a pensioner in a remote area dependent on a phone line and alarm system has had no follow-up and that her constituency office still has no phone line weeks after the storm despite repeated contacts.
Call on the minister to intervene
Nolan called on the minister to intervene with AIR to secure a more efficient response and to ensure vulnerable residents in remote areas receive timely support and follow-up.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Other speeches
Tego samego dnia All speeches from this day →
Michael Fitzmaurice
Michael Fitzmaurice urges immediate aid after storm devastation
Paul Murphy
Paul Murphy: Go-Ahead Buses Failing Riders Across Routes
Mary Lou McDonald
Deputy Mary Lou McDonald- speech from 05 Feb 2025
Mattie McGrath
Mattie McGrath Urges Village Hubs, Praises Emergency Workers
Richard Boyd Barrett
Richard Boyd Barrett: Calls ministries bill a 'gravy train'
Danny Healy-Rae
Danny Healy-Rae urges removal of trees after storm blackouts
Transcript
Minister, I am glad to get the opportunity to speak this evening on this matter and I suppose I want to start by commending the workers in local authorities right across the country and indeed the ESB workers. I want to pay particular tribute to those workers who were out in dire conditions and who certainly are doing their level best to get power restored to all areas of this state. However, it was concerning to see maybe a lack of planning, particularly what concerned me was people with medical conditions. I know I was contacted by the families of many people with special needs and pensioners who were on oxygen and there was concern over, you know, no power and the fact that the oxygen units were going to run out. And that is something I think we do need to plan for. We do need to make sure that we have support systems backed up should a situation ever arise like what we had. And I suppose, look, we did see communities pulling together. We did see community centres using their resources and facilities and that was certainly very welcome and a very pragmatic and generous gesture. We did see, you know, a farming community again stepping up to the mark and helping throughout this country. So that is very welcome and there were obviously lots of supports and positives but I do want to raise serious concerns. We have a semi-state company called AIR and I am just baffled and unfounded by their lack of efficiency, the lack of professionalism and indeed the lack of response to urgent situations. I have contacted them about a pensioner living in a very remote area who depends on the phone line and on an alarm system and still no follow-up, you know, like we are almost a couple of weeks now after the storm, no follow-up whatsoever. And I have had first-hand experience of AIR in that my constituency office still has no phone line despite being contacted a number of times. So I believe that I am calling here tonight on the Minister to intervene with AIR and to ensure that we get a more efficient response and indeed people who are vulnerable like pensioners living in remote areas get a response.