Elderly people affected by power outages since Storm Éowyn “are staying in bed to stay warm”, according to the Manager of Castlebar Social Services in Co Mayo.
Deirdre Waldron said that such people “don’t have any means of heating” at the moment.
She added that “an awful lot” of the organisation’s clients “rely solely on the pendant alarm” but may be in areas with no phone coverage.
“Vodafone, Eir, they don’t know when the landlines are going to be back up,” Ms Waldron said.
The organisation, which operates a meals-on-wheels service, was “able to send out double meals” the day before the storm due to the weather warnings, she told RTÉ’s News at One.
Despite this, by Monday, “it was really just crisis mode” and “we just had to react daily”.
Castlebar Social Services, which has 150 clients in the region, contacted people via its telephone service.
But Ms Waldron said that some were uncontactable and members “went out physically and met them”.
The organisation, she added, liaised with local people and gardaí and was “able to tap into the ones that we knew were the most venerable”.
“They’re very undemanding, the elderly,” Ms Waldron said, adding that some clients would tell members: “I’m used to this, we grew up with no electricity”.
However, she said: “The cold, it was difficult for them”.
In circumstances where people “don’t have light and heating” the group is providing flasks of hot water.
In terms of the meals-on-wheels service, Ms Waldron said that hot meals are being delivered to clients rather than “blast chilled” ones as some people cannot use their fridges.
She said that lessons can be learned from events such as Storm Éowyn, adding that “we need to put something in place because there are going to be more storms”.
Such a plan, she added, could relate to distributing generators to “the more vulnerable”.
She said the number of people aged 65 and over is “projected to double over the next 20 years” and “demand on health and social care services is going to be massive”.
“I just think you know we are working with groups in Mayo and voluntary and community groups and we’re looking to put a plan in place for housing and community support.
“I’m hoping that the Government will back us on that when it when it comes to fruition,” Ms Waldron said.
