Rural community group calls for national helpline to direct response

A NATIONAL helpline number to co-ordinate all requests from the public during the big freeze was sought yesterday by Irish Rural Link (IRL).

It warned that possible road closures due to lack of grit will exacerbate fuel and food shortages in households.

IRL chief executive Seamus Boland said the National Emergency Response Committee should immediately set up the helpline number.

“It is urgently needed to co-ordinate the response of local authorities, the emergency services, the Defence Forces and Health Service Executive to calls for help and to direct services to hardship cases.

“The 999 service is not in a position to deal with matters like gritting and water and we have a situation where local authorities and public services websites are not being updated,” he said.

Mr Boland said local authority workers are putting in a massive effort to keep roads open and maintain services.

But the councils are unable to answer all the calls to their emergency numbers. People are ringing numbers with no answer or are being fobbed off.

People don’t know what assistance is out there, what the situation in their area is and how to access help.

“Whether you’re a family stuck up a country road without food or a pensioner in a Dublin suburb whose prescription has run out you should be able to ring one office to trigger a response,” he said.

Mr Boland said the National Roads Authority has raised the possibility of road closures due to a shortage of grit.

This increases the prospect of food and fuel shortages for households in rural areas. Local roads in rural areas are already impassable and hundreds of households are stranded.

“People need to know how decisions on road closures will be made and what notice, if any, they are likely to get in order to stock up on supplies for home and farm,” he said.

Irish Farmers Association president Padraig Walshe said many people in rural Ireland, especially the elderly, are cut off from food and fuel supplies.

“The rural community is very conscious of these problems and neighbours are helping out each other in every way they can.

“With the availability of tractors and jeeps, farm families are in a good position to access local shops and services,” he said, urging IFA members to assist in bringing food and fuel supplies to isolated families.