Emergency Preparedness Booklet To Be Delivered To Every Irish Household.

Emergency Preparedness Booklet to be Delivered to every Irish household, with new guidance on Community Support Centres.

Every household in Ireland is set to receive an emergency-preparedness publication in the coming weeks, as Irish Government moves to strengthen national readiness for severe weather and other disruptive events.

The “household resilience” booklet, prepared by the Office of Emergency Planning (OEP) in the Department of Defence, will provide practical guidance for households on preparing for and coping with emergencies, particularly extreme weather events such as major storms and the potential loss of essential services including electricity, water, heat and communications.

The booklet’s publication follows a recommendation from the review group that examined Ireland’s response to Storm Éowyn, which struck on January 24th, 2025 and triggered nationwide red wind warnings. The Storm Éowyn review notes that 768,000 electricity customers lost power, with peak gusts reaching 184 km/h at Mace Head, and that disruption was particularly severe in remote and rural communities.

According to reporting, the review group highlighted the importance of households having a clear checklist of actions to remain safe, warm, fed and hydrated during an extended outage, with practical steps aimed at helping families to manage disruption.

Community Support Centres guidance issued to councils.

In parallel, local authorities have been issued with guidelines for establishing Community Support Centres (CSCs) to provide the public with essential services when major outages and disruption occur.

The guidelines indicate CSCs may be set up in a range of premises, including sports halls, community centres, town halls and leisure centres, and list practical requirements such as a large main room, tables and chairs, a kitchen or food-preparation area, toilets, reliable Wi-Fi, and sufficient extension cables. Accessibility requirements and provision for private space for specific needs are also referenced.

Press reports are understood to indicate CSCs are not intended to be used as overnight rest facilities, and that a key operational requirement is that locations should be generator-ready (or capable of being made ready), with local authorities covering electrician costs and supplying generators.

An Oireachtas committee opening statement in late 2025 also referenced that a Guide to Community Support Centres is now in place for use by all local authorities.