Community hubs will remain open to people without facilities

Local Coordination Groups are now in place in 17 local authority areas.

Local authorities are coordinating a local level humanitarian assistance response to the needs of people who have been significantly impacted by the storm.

Local Coordination Groups are now in place in 17 local authority areas.

Cavan leads the way with 30 hubs established.

More than 140 Emergency Response Hubs have been set up in the counties most affected by service outages. Emergency Response Hubs are assisting people with basic needs such as water, hot food, phone charging, broadband access and shower facilities.

Cavan Community Forum has convened to marshall the humanitarian response, and Cavan County Council, as lead agency, has arranged for a number of community hubs to open to provide facilities such as showers, heating, tea and coffee, and hot-desking.

The following hubs are still available:

Ballinagh Community Centre

Kingspan Breffni, Cavan Town

Bailieborough Business Centre

Kingscourt Community Centre

Virginia Show Centre

Market House, Blacklion

Goods Store Community Centre, Belturbet Railway Station, H14 E276

Tomregan Hall, Ballyconnell

Killeshandra Resource Centre

Tullacmongan Resource Centre, Cavan Town

Kilian's Lodge, Mullagh

Local libraries are also being used.

Cathaoirleach of Cavan County Council, Cllr TP O'Reilly hailed the efforts of council staff and the resilience of the people of Cavan.

“This has been an extraordinary weekend where we have witnessed the worst of nature's destructive power and the best of our capacity to respond to adversity,” he said. “I want to thank each and every firefighter, council worker, civil defence volunteer, ESB and Uisce Éireann staff, contractors and community volunteers who have contributed to the clean-up operation, which is already at an advanced stage. There still remains a great deal of work to do, but I'm confident that in a matter of days, normality will have returned.”

In the meantime, Cllr O'Reilly appealed to the people of Cavan to “continue to look out for your neighbours, and to especially look in on vulnerable or isolated family, friends, and neighbours who may have been affected by this storm.”

A key focus is on ensuring the welfare of vulnerable or isolated people. A number of organisations including Uisce Éireann, ESB Networks, An Post, An Garda Síochána, HSE and Local Link are checking in on vulnerable people and any concerns will be raised through the Local Coordination Group for follow up.

Alongside this, the public are strongly encouraged to check in on neighbours, family and friends and to report any concerns to Gardaí.