LAST UPDATE | 11 Dec 2023
TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has met with local residents and business owners in Leitrim this afternoon as a clean-up operation continues after the village was hit with a localised tornado.
The freak weather event happened at 12.30pm yesterday afternoon.
Footage and photos posted on social media in the immediate aftermath showed debris scattered around streets and significant damage to cars and some property in the small village.
Leitrim County Council said a “number of vehicles and properties in the village suffered significant damage, with the roof being removed completely from one building and a number of other buildings suffering roof damage”.
As a result, a council spokesperson said “some residents of Leitrim Village required alternative accommodation and Leitrim County Council have assisted and provided accommodation for those persons”.
The council added that a “significant amount of debris was thrown onto the footpaths and main road and a cleanup operation is now well underway”.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has arrived in Leitrim to meet with locals and see the damaged caused to Leitrim Village after a localised tornado yesterday. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/EN0wCgWyrG
— Muiris O’Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 11, 2023
Speaking to reporters in Leitrim Village this afternoon, Varadkar confirmed that the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme from the Department of Social Protection will be available to those who have been impacted by the tornado.
The scheme aims to “prevent hardship by providing income-tested financial support to people whose homes are damaged from flooding and severe weather events and who are unable to meet costs for essential needs, household items and structural repair”.
The scheme does not cover risks that are already covered by insurance policies or cover business or commercial losses.
Income limits for the scheme are €50,000 for a single person, €90,000 for a couple and €15,000 per dependent child.
Varadkar said the next step is to engage with the insurance companies, adding that most people in the village are insured.
“But it can take time for that money to come through and we can put in place business supports in particular to help businesses affected because there are people, obviously, who would have expected a very busy period in the run up to Christmas, they’ve staff who would have planned, in their minds money over-time and so on. So that’s the kind of thing we can help with and we will,” he said.
When asked how long he envisages people will be waiting to get the financial assistance from Government, Varadkar said “it does depend”.
“The way it works is we can offer cash payments up front and that can be done … it can be done today, it can be done tomorrow, it can be done quite quickly once people fill in the forms,” he said.
“When it comes to other payments, that can take a bit longer because you do actually have to assess the damage and produce recipts and so on.”
Speaking to locals behind the heavily damaged bike shop, Varadkar tells them of Relief schemes the govt. has which might help them to receive funding before their insurance pays out. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/lMIlrbaQYM
— Muiris O’Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 11, 2023
Varadkar said the Government will provide a “special allocation” to Leitrim County Council for damaged infrastructure such as roads and street lights.
In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson for the ESB said it began repair work yesterday afternoon after the tornado caused damage to electricity networks in the village.
Justin Fannon of Leitrim County Council told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme this morning that the tornado came from a westerly direction from the River Shannon and proceeded along the Ballinamore Canal.
“It damaged trees and took branches into the air and carried debris along. Some of the debris landed on some cars behind the Leitrim Inn, and it then proceeded to take the roof off a house that thankfully was vacant,” he said.
He said the debris damaged three or four other properties on the main street of the town on the same side as the Leitrim Inn, and two other properties on the other side of the street before tracking northeasterly towards the marina, where it overturned three or four boats.
The main road through the town remains closed. Gardaí asked that people avoid the area, as Storm Fergus crossed over the country yesterday.
“The village is closed. Please avoid the area and be patient while emergency services deal with the incident,” the An Garda Síochána account for road traffic updates posted on X.
The county was under a yellow wind warning, which saw very strong and gusty southwesterly winds throughout parts of the country.
With reporting by Muiris O’Cearbhaill
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