‘We’ve learned nothing since storm Eówyn’ — Fury as power cuts hit south Leitrim again

Four days after Storm Amy battered Leitrim, hundreds of homes and farms in the south of the county remain without electricity — prompting Cllr Paddy O’Rourke to say that “we’ve learned nothing since Storm Eówyn.”

Cllr O’Rourke said many families remain “vulnerable” to repeated storm damage because of poor management of roadside forestry and a lack of follow-through on government promises.

“There are still many families who are vulnerable to these collapses of trees, and very little has been done to sort it,” he said. “For all the promises that Minister Healy made — that he would speed up this system — nothing has really changed.”

O’Rourke said he is particularly concerned about fringe hardwood trees being left on the edges of forestry sites after clear-felling.

“When you remove the shelter and support behind them, those isolated hardwoods are left exposed. For the ten or twelve years before the forest regrows, they’re extremely vulnerable — and they’ll come down one at a time,” he explained.

He added that the repeated areas of the forestry in the worst-hit areas — Mohill, Ballinamore, Aughavas and Carrigallen are owned by absentee landlords who have “refused to take responsibility” for cleaning up or addressing dangerous trees.

“Many of these forests are owned by absentee landlords, and they’re not taking responsibility,” he said. “People are out of power and phone service again — it’s not good enough.”

Cllr O’Rourke said some work had been carried out over the summer by ESB Networks, but that the focus must now shift to prevention, not just repair.

“We need to prevent the harm being done in the first place,” he said. “Infrastructure that was repaired after the January disaster has now been damaged again. It’s the same areas every time.”

He added that councillors plan to raise the issue again at the next Ballinamore Municipal District meeting, calling for the Department to review its forestry licensing policy and for stronger storm preparedness in rural Leitrim.

“We’re back in storm season again,” said Cllr O’Rourke. “Who knows what’s coming next — but clearly, we’ve learned nothing since Storm Eówyn.”

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