A STATUS RED weather warning was placed on the whole country yesterday as Storm Ophelia blasted across the island of Ireland.

Despite numerous warnings telling people to remain indoors and avoid going anywhere near the sea, photos and videos emerged throughout the day of people risking their lives by getting into the sea. The RLNI and Rescue 116 were tasked to the rescue of five windsurfers at Blackrock Bay in Dundalk yesterday. Thankfully, they made it to shore safely themselves.

Fianna Fáil TD Thomas Byrne tweeted that “disobeying an order by emergency personnel to leave a location during a red warning must be made an offence” and then, last night, his fellow Fianna Fáil TD Darragh O’Brien said that he would be drafting legislation to make it a criminal offence to “put emergency services at risk” through “reckless behaviour”.

We’re asking: Do you think people who ignore emergency service warnings during a status red warning should be subject to criminal proceedings?