INDEPENDENT Ireland TD Richard O’Donoghue praised the collective work of people in communities across County Limerick during recent storms with record-breaking winds.
Only for such volunteerism, people would have lost their lives, the County Limerick TD told the Dáil.
“In our community, we had a tragic death. Sadly, there would have been more deaths if it were not for the efforts of the local people, backed up by the county council, the search and rescue services, the Civil Defence, the Red Cross, and our Gardaí, who had to borrow a Jeep from another county in order to assist,” he said.
“Can one imagine that the Gardaí had to borrow a Jeep from another area to come out and do a search and rescue? Can one imagine that? The Red Cross too had to borrow vehicles from other counties to provide meals for people. It showed the lack of resources these people have in County Limerick.
“Farmers and other people who had access to tractors, Jeeps, quads, and whatever they could come up with went out and helped the people. The government is subsidising places, but it is not subsidising enough.”
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The County Limerick politician also pointed out that local communities and the likes of the Civil Defence, the Red Cross, search and rescue teams, and An Garda Síochána went out to help but were missing the funding needed to ensure they could save lives.
“That is a disappointment, but we can learn from this,” Deputy O’Donoghue said.
“People provided generators and heating for homes. They opened up their businesses, got them running and brought locals in from around the area, gave them soup and sandwiches, and kept them warm in a warm place because they had no heating in their own houses.
“That is what our great local people did when the Government let us down,” he concluded.
