Funding to deal with storms wholly inadequate – Cork County Council
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Cork County Council has said that funding streams to deal with severe weather events are “wholly inadequate” and hinder preparation for storms.
Already this year, the storms Isha and Jocelyn caused severe damage and widespread power outages across northern counties, particularly in Co Donegal, while areas such as Midleton experienced severe flooding last autumn.
Cork County Council said that Storm Babet alone cost €60m.
“Existing funding streams are wholly inadequate in dealing with the level of response required in the aftermath of severe weather events,” a Cork County Council spokesperson said.
“From a local authority perspective, the council is continuing to lobby for emergency funding support from the Government to address the damage caused.
“It is impossible to formulate an accurate, estimated cost, as the local-authority financial accounting system doesn’t track expenditure in the requested manner."
"There are a wide range of directorates that are involved in emergency response: Roads, fire-and-emergency services, environment, coastal and flood protection, customer services, communications, and ICT.
The Siptu trade union also raised “increasing concerns” from members that local authorities “need to do more” to prepare for extreme weather.
A Siptu spokesperson said: “For example, in the retained fire services, there are concerns about mobilising firefighters to make their way to their fire stations during red-alert warnings, where their personal car insurance may prohibit them from making such journeys.
“Some local authorities are reluctant, at present, to make adequate preparations for extreme weather events, such as, for example, placing retained firefighters on standby in their stations, most likely because of the financial cost.
"This has led to localised disputes on a number of occasions and the department has not issued guidance on this growing concern, to date.”
Cork County Council said it is reliant on assistance from the Government for repair and clean-up after a severe weather event.
“The cost of preparedness has also increased in recent years, due to the increase in the number of significant rainfall events, wind events, and winter-maintenance mobilisations.”
The spokesperson said the council is engaged with stakeholders in developing plans to improve community resilience and preparedness for areas prone to flooding and that it was “of paramount importance that the OPW and local authorities are resourced”.
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