Offaly County Council confident it's ready for future severe-weather events

OFFALY County Council (OCC) is confident that it's primed and ready for any future severe-weather events that might impact the county.
A recent meeting of the local authority was told that lessons had been learned from Storm Éowyn (which hit Ireland on January 24, 2025, with record breaking gusts of up to 184kph, causing €200 million in damage and leaving 750,000 in Ireland without power for days, and even weeks in some cases.)
Councillors were told that Éowyn and other severe-weather events had highlighted the need for designated locations within each community where residents can access essential welfare supports during prolonged power outages.
Community Support Centres (CSCs) provide this function by offering access to food, heat, hygiene facilities, mobile phone charging and internet connectivity when normal services are disrupted.
OCC said it welcomed the national initiative to strengthen the resilience of Community Support Centres and ensure that these facilities can continue operating when mains power is lost.
In line with the national programme for mobile, trailer-mounted emergency generators, the Roads Department of OCC will acquire three 100 kVA (kilovolt-ampere) generators and one 30 kVA generator.
These units will be stored and maintained by the Council's Machinery yard and deployed to the CSCs as required.
Following national guidance, each designated centre will be equipped with a manual changeover switch, installed by a registered electrical contractor, to allow safe and efficient connection to either a 100 kVA three-phase or a 30 kVA single-phase generator.
“This shared-generator model,” the Councillors were told, “provides a practical and flexible approach to ensuring CSCs can operate effectively during emergency situations.”