An ‘incredible response’

Council praised for reaction to severe weather event

Tipperary Co Council spread over 2,000 tonnes of salt on the county's roads as part of a massive response to the severe weather event that arrived last week.

The council's management and in particular the outdoor staff were praised this week for working around the clock in responding to the worst snow and ice conditions seen since the ‘Beast from the East’ in 2018. With temperatures plummeting as low as minus seven degrees in some areas, the council mobilised three times per day to ensure that 1,100km of road - around 20% of the Tipperary's entire network - remained safe for motorists to use.

The salt truck drivers covered some 20,000km during the week. Routes that would normally take them three hours to drive took between four and five hours, due to the conditions.

They spread a total of 2,120 tonnes of salt in seven days in an operation that cost around €400,000. By way of comparison, 2,700 tonnes were spread in the entire winter season of 2022. Fortunately, the council was fully-stocked with 3,000 tonnes of salt at the beginning of the week.

The council's Severe Weather Alert Team (SWAT) met daily from January 3 to 10. Made up of key members of the executive and engineering staff, it engaged with the ESB, Uisce Éireann, gardaí and other agencies, as well as farmers and community volunteers in dealing with the issues that arose.

SHELTER FOUND FOR HOMELESS

The Civil Defence volunteers were widely praised for the role they played in the response. This week's meeting of Tipperary Co Council heard that they transported patients in need of medical procedures and brought medical staff and supplies to people living in isolated areas. The Civil Defence delivered hot meals to people living in sheltered housing and brought shopping to people who needed it.

The council's homelessness unit identified people sleeping rough and was able to find emergency accommodation for them during the week.

Tipperary Fire & Rescue Service also played a significant role in the SWAT and attended over 60 callouts during the week. Around 90 calls were made to the council's out-of-hours service last week, while 600 calls were made to the customer services desk.

Cathaoirleach Cllr Declan Burgess led tributes to everyone involved in the response, including the councillors themselves for spreading information and assistance around their respective communities. All were praiseworthy of the council's efforts and, while they agreed that lessons need to be learned from last week's event, several speakers hit out at unfair criticism of the response on social media.

COMMUNITY SALT DEPOTS

Most councillors were of the view that small-scale depots or boxes of salt should be installed in housing estates or community areas where people could assist the council by covering roads and paths themselves. Among them was Cllr Pamela Quirke O'Meara, who spoke of the challenges faced in Kilcommon, Templederry and Silvermines, which were among the worst areas affected.

She praised the council's engineers and outdoor staff - some of whom went to work even though they were sick - for tackling a series of problems in the area, including fallen trees. Cllr Quirke O'Meara also thanked the Civil Defence for helping a family that needed antibiotics for a baby, and a farmer in Kilcommon whom she asked to look after older people.

As a parent living in rural Ireland, Cllr Quirke O'Meara said it is good to know that support is available when needed. The next crisis, she pointed out, would be dealing with the condition many roads have been left in as a result of the extreme weather.

Working as a postman, Cllr Séamie Morris had first-hand experience of how dangerous the conditions were after the snow fell and became compacted, and then froze. The country was not prepared for it and the council did not have enough staff, but the staff who responded worked 24/7 in shifts and could not have done any more, Cllr Morris said. He made the point that the council could not be expected to treat every road and estate.

Cllr Phyll Bugler was one of several speakers to call for clarity around the issue of insurance, saying people are willing to help the council in emergency situations but are fearful of the insurance implications.

Cllr David Dunne sought a list of contractors used by the council during the event, saying some contractors were paid for the work they did but others were not. He also wanted to know whether salt, manpower and additional resources were sought from neighbouring local authorities that did not experience problems of the same extent as those seen in Tipperary.

The Defence Forces should also have been asked for assistance, Cllr Dunne suggested, after the meeting heard that people in parts of west Tipperary could not leave their homes for seven days. Cllr Siobhán Ambrose believed the conditions were so bad that the weather warning should have been upgraded from Orange to Red.

‘WE'VE MAXED OUT OUR RESOURCES’

Director of Services Liam Brett thanked all involved in what he termed an “incredible response” to the severe weather event. Despite significant difficulties, the response was ultimately “hugely successful”. While impossible to get to all of the county's roads, the council has succeeded in keeping the arterial routes open, which was vital for enabling people to access hospitals and getting food and supplies in to the shops.

While the meeting had heard of many suggestions for dealing with future severe weather events, these all had a monetary cost, Mr Brett advised. He said the council has already exhausted its winter maintenance budget of one million euro.

Last week's weather certainly had caused damage to the county's roads infrastructure and the council is already working with the Department of Transport in that regard, Mr Brett told the meeting.

CEO Sinéad Carr said the council was not “caught unawares” and its planned response had proven effective. However, “we've maxed out our resources”, she added.

Ms Carr was happy to provide a list of contractors that the council worked with and made the point that health & safety standards must be adhered to, regardless of the situation. She said the council did ask neighbouring local authorities for assistance last week but those authorities had their own issues to contend with.

In the event of future severe weather events, Ms Carr said there may be a need to “manage expectations” with regard to what can be achieved. “No matter how good a service is, it won't get to everyone,” the chief executive commented, adding that people in other countries that experience snow regularly have a responsibility to clear it from outside their premises, something that would help the local authority considerably.

Thanking all concerned for their help, Ms Carr said the suggestions raised at the meeting would be dealt with by the Strategic Policy Committee.

Cllr Micheál Lowry said the same course of action followed the last severe weather crisis in 2018. He wanted to know what recommendations the SPC made back then and whether they were acted upon.