McGlone: more support needed from NI Executive for rural areas impacted by Storm Éowyn

Mr McGlone said rural areas have been some of those worst affected by the fallout from Storm Éowyn.

"I have personally spent the weekend dealing with hundreds of calls for assistance across a widespread area and have heard reports of older people and those with disabilities being left isolated in cold homes with no electricity and no support," he said.

"For those living out in the country without a proper support network this can be a frightening and challenging experience.

“Efforts to obtain the generators necessary to temporarily restore electricity in some areas has proved very difficult, with a shortage of generators as thousands of homes remain without power.

"I have also been working with local farms that have been left without both electricity and water as their water is pumped uphill by an electricity driven pump in some of the more mountainous areas of the North.

"This could be disastrous for the animals on these farms without access to water and warnings that it could take over a week for them to be reconnected.

“The Executive needs to acknowledge the specific challenges facing rural areas and work together to deliver much needed support.

"We cannot allow vulnerable people or animals to be left living in these conditions. The longer this drags on the worse the situation is going to get and government agencies need to do everything they can drive assistance where it’s most needed.”