Cork East Fine Gael TD and Minister of State at the Department of Justice, David Stanton has praised the dedication of emergency service workers, other frontline staff, contractors and volunteers in East and North Cork during the recent adverse weather conditions.
“Members of An Garda Síochána and the local Coastguard, in particular, played a vital role. The Defence Forces and Civil Defence, who are made up of a network of over 3,500 volunteers nationwide, were also used for transporting to hospital many patients with urgent medical needs such as those requiring regular dialysis.
“They were on hand to assist other frontline services, such as the Gardaí, the Fire Brigade and the Coastguard, with any duties required to keeping communities safe through their liaison with the National and Regional Emergency Coordination Group who were responsible for advising on capabilities and resources during the emergency period.
“In addition to assisting healthcare workers, the Defence Forces and Civil Defence also transferred Cork County Council and Irish Water staff to facilitate water supply repairs. As we have seen from the water restrictions in place in other areas around the country maintaining and securing supply of this vital resource during adverse weather is a challenge”, said Minister Stanton.
“The maintenance and repair crews of ESB networks who are responsible for preserving our electricity supply should also be congratulated. They have worked tirelessly in very challenging conditions to ensure that power was restored to all homes and businesses.
“Cork County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland staff did superb work enhancing road safety by gritting, salting and clearing roads. The work of many local contractors, farmers and volunteers who assisted Cork County Council was also invaluable to ensuring access in towns and in the countryside.
“Finally, we should also recognise the work of other community groups, volunteers and the public who assisted people at local level, including checking on neighbours and ensuing that the elderly and infirm had sufficient food, water and fuel to keep them safe and well.
