1866. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the enactment or progress on adopting the recommendations of the Storm Éowyn Review Steering Group report; the review on the adoption of Community Hub concept into Community Support Centres due in Q2 this year; the purchase and distribution of 80 new mobile generators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62537/26]

As Lead Government Department for coordinating a response to severe weather and flooding emergencies, my Department undertook a review of the National Emergency Co-ordination Group's response to Storm Éowyn. The review has been published and is available at: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/press-releases/review-of-storm-%C3%A9owyn-response-published/.

Responsibility for delivering improvements is spread across a range of bodies. One of the priority recommendations arising from the review and assigned to my Department was the establishment of a Community Support Centre (CSC) model across the local authority sector.

To support this recommendation, a national guidance document has been developed, agreed with the local authority sector, and is now in operation. The guidance provides a framework for the rapid activation of Community Support Centres, coordinated by local authorities within affected communities during emergency events.

The CSC model has already been deployed in practice. Community Support Centres were activated at eight locations in Donegal in response to Storm Amy in October 2025 and were also activated in Wicklow and Wexford during flooding events associated with Storm Chandra in 2026. The guidance will continue to be refined and enhanced in light of operational experience and lessons identified.

There are currently approximately 450 identified Community Support Centre locations nationwide, with additional locations continuing to be identified. A dedicated mapping application has also been developed. Local authorities are working with community and voluntary organisations to populate the system with CSC information, enabling members of the public to identify their nearest Community Support Centre during an emergency.

In addition, the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, working in partnership with my Department and local authorities, has funded the acquisition of mobile generators to support community resilience. As a result, local authorities now have access to 124 mobile generators located throughout the country and available for rapid deployment to affected communities.

A complementary programme is also underway to install changeover switches at CSC locations. This will facilitate the safe and rapid connection of generators when required. Carlow County Council has completed an exercise to test this capability at a CSC location, successfully demonstrating the effectiveness of the plug-and-play generator system.

A further aspect of community resilience has been tested in collaboration with Vodafone through the deployment of an independent mobile communications network at a CSC location. This capability would enable a CSC to maintain essential communications services in circumstances where both power and conventional telecommunications networks have been disrupted. As a result, CSCs can continue to provide critical support services, including internet and mobile phone connectivity, during severe weather events. Vodafone maintains a number of these deployable units, together with trained personnel to install and operate them when required.