Be Winter Ready leaflet for 2018-2019 published

The ‘Be Winter Ready’ 2018-2019 Campaign – You, Your Community and the Winter

DRCD together with the Office of Emergency Planning (OEP), have produced the Be Winter Ready Leaflet for 2018-2019. Winter readiness is a challenge for individuals and communities across Ireland each year, and the campaign is designed to raise awareness of practical steps to keep safe through the winter months.

The department’s mission is to “promote rural and community development and to support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland”. For this reason, we chose to highlight the importance of communities getting to know each other and preparing together in advance for extreme weather events.

We are asking communities to think about the structures and supports that are in place, or need to be put in place, at local level to respond to an extreme weather event. For example, who locally has first aid training, which neighbours may be vulnerable or in need of supplies. We are asking people to start thinking about these issues and the lessons learnt from previous events so that we can prepare in advance.

DRCD Supports for the Community

DRCD provides supports for communities nationwide throughout the whole year which become especially important in an extreme weather event. Several of these are listed on the leaflet:

• Seniors Alert Scheme (SAS) – The personal emergency alarm provided under the Seniors Alert Scheme (SAS) is an invaluable resource that gives peace of mind to older people and their families.
• CLÁR Programme – The CLÁR programme has seen defibrillators and other supports for first responders being provided in disadvantaged rural areas.
• Volunteering – Volunteers often play a massive role in responding to emergency situations. Volunteer paramedics and the civil defence have made huge contributions in our preparations for extreme weather events in the past and will continue to play an important role into the future.
• Libraries – Libraries are convenient places for the public to meet and access information online before and after extreme weather events.

For more information, please see the Be Winter Ready Information Booklet or visit Be Winter Ready Website