Storm-proofing the west – Mayo councillor demands community generator roll-out

MAYO Councillor Deirdre Lawless is calling on the government to take decisive action to storm-proof the west of Ireland by providing emergency generators to water pumping stations and key hubs - community centres and schools.

“We need to stop treating severe weather events as if they’re once-in-a-century occurrences,” Councillor Lawless stated. “Storms are hitting harder and more frequently. It’s time to get ahead of the next crisis instead of scrambling in the dark once disaster strikes.”

As she stated at this week's Claremorris/Swinford Municipal meeting, community centres should be equipped with emergency generators so they can serve as vital hubs in the wake of future storms.

“A community centre with a generator isn’t just a building - it’s a lifeline,” she argued. “It means people have somewhere warm to go, where they can get a hot meal, charge their phones, and access water for showers.

“It turns chaos into community resilience.”

Councillor Lawless is also insisting that schools be prioritised for backup power, ensuring that children can continue their education and receive food and warmth during outages.

“Schools are the beating heart of our communities. We shouldn’t leave our children shivering in the cold or missing out on education because of predictable weather events,” she stated.

Another critical priority is ensuring that all water pumping stations have generators to maintain a consistent supply.

“In most developed countries, pumping stations have backup power as standard. Why should Irish communities be left without clean water every time the power goes out?” she asked. “It’s not just about convenience - it’s about public health and basic human dignity.”

Councillor Lawless believes this initiative should be the first step in a broader strategy to storm-proof the west of Ireland.

“We talk about climate adaptation, but where is the action? The government must make these investments now so that communities are not left in the lurch year after year. Let’s give this issue the priority it deserves.”

She is urging the government to act before the next storm, warning that failure to do so will only leave rural communities more exposed.

“We’ve been here before, and we’ll be here again,” she concluded. “The question is, will we be ready next time, or will we keep making the same mistakes?

“We need to be proactive, not reactive. Let’s get ahead of the next crisis before it gets ahead of us.”