Comments made on RTÉ’s News at One this afternoon by Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton amount to a tacit admission that the Government completely botched the handling of its response to Storm Éowyn, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.
“Almost a week after this devastating storm wreaked havoc across the country, the penny has finally dropped for the Government that there is widespread public anger at their ineptitude.
“In the course of the radio interview, Minister Naughton accepted that the Government needs to plan better for the next extreme weather event. In particular, she conceded that emergency hubs should be identified long in advance of storms happening, while admitting that many of the hubs that opened this week took far too long to be set up.
“Her damning admission will bring little comfort to the tens of thousands of people still waiting for their power supply to be restored.
“The minister’s comments should not distract from the fact that this crisis is still ongoing and there is much work needed to be done to ensure that those most impacted by the storm, including the elderly and medically vulnerable, receive the urgent supports they require.
“The Government badly underestimated the public mood by not recalling the Dáil this week to discuss the State’s response to the crisis.
“They will now have to answer for their incompetence when it reconvenes next Wednesday.”
January 30, 2025