Meteorological Services

I raise the planned introduction by Met Éireann of a new weather warning system and a decision to delay its introduction. It was reported by RTÉ last week that the new system, which was due to be in place by the end of this year, will now be delayed and is still going through consultation. I welcome the plans to improve the warning system but I am disappointed that it will not be ready as expected. The current system is based largely on county boundaries. This means an entire county can receive the same weather warning even when conditions are very different from one part of the county to another. Anyone familiar with my county, County Clare, will understand the problem. We have a long Atlantic coastline, areas of high ground and inland communities. The weather can be very different in west Clare compared to east Clare, even over a relatively short distance. Let me give the Minister of State an example. In the 24 hours between 4 p.m. on 23 October and 4 p.m. on 24 October this year, 51 mm of rain fell in Moyasta in west Clare, where ground conditions were already very wet. Compare that with Newmarket on Fergus on the other side of the county, where just 23 mm of rain fell during the same period. During this time, Cork, Kerry and Waterford were placed under status orange weather warnings while Clare was placed under a status yellow weather warning. Under Met Éireann's own guidelines, a status orange rainfall warning applies where 50 mm or more of rain is expected over 24 hours. That level was reached in west Clare. Meanwhile, the 30 mm required for a status yellow warning was not reached in Newmarket-on-Fergus. This shows exactly why the current system needs to be changed. The new system would allow Met Éireann to issue warnings for specific areas rather than entire counties. This is already done by the UK Met Office. I have three questions. Why has the new system been delayed? Why are so much further consultation and so many focus groups needed when the UK Met Office introduced this type of warning system in 2011? It has been in place in the UK, whose weather conditions are very similar to our own in Ireland, for 15 years. What more do we need to find out before we can move ahead? When will the new system actually be in place? Are we talking about a few months or will people have to wait another year or two? People depend on Met Éireann's warnings when deciding whether to travel, when protecting their homes and businesses, and when planning outdoor works. This is also particularly important for those in the farming community, who need to make decisions based on weather conditions.

I thank Deputy Cooney for raising this Topical Issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy James Browne. Met Éireann has strengthened its national weather warning service and the localised weather warning and display systems have been put in place. These developments have now entered the usability and understandability assessment phase. The introduction of a new warning system is not simply a technical exercise. It is essential that the information provided is easily understood by the public and supports informed decision-making during severe weather events. As part of this assessment, Met Éireann has also engaged with local authorities, Government Departments and emergency management agencies. The next most important stakeholder in this phase is the public. Met Éireann is undertaking independent research using focus groups to ensure the technical development for localised warnings achieves its objective of providing clearer information to the public and supporting informed decision-making during weather events. This approach aligns with international best practice and is what other national meteorological services have done with comparable localised weather warning systems. The research will take place over the coming months and any improvements identified will be incorporated into the final technical solution. As a matter of operational prudence, major changes to national weather warning systems are not introduced during the winter period, when the system may be required to support responses to significant weather events. Met Éireann is committed to ensuring that the enhanced warning system is robust, effective and readily understood by users. The new localised weather warning system will be in place by the start of the next storm season.

I thank the Minister of State very much for his response. I want to make one thing clear; people do pay heed to Met Éireann. They listen to the warnings and use that information to make decisions about their daily lives. Having a proper weather warning system in place allows people to make informed decisions about travelling, making plans and carrying out outdoor work. The difference between receiving the wrong weather warning because of the county boundary system and receiving the correct warning for the conditions in your own area is significant. This is especially important during storms but it also applies in wintry weather. I will give another example from Clare. In November 2024, almost exactly two years ago, areas of higher ground in Clare recorded close to 1 ft of snow. A number of rural communities were left cut off and housebound for several days. However, in the lower, more populated parts of the county, the weather was completely different. They experienced rain rather than heavy snowfall. Despite these very different conditions, the entire county received the same weather warning. Surely, we can do better than that. We need to change the way we issue weather warnings. They need to reflect the conditions people are actually facing in their own areas rather than treating the entire county as one. I acknowledge the Minister of State's response but the fact remains that a working system already exists in the UK. This has been in place since 2011 and we can learn from that experience. We need to speed up this process rather than allowing it to drag on. This is ultimately about public safety. People need to know what weather conditions they can expect so that they can protect themselves, their families, their homes and their businesses. We have waited long enough for this change. I ask the Minister of State to make sure the work is completed and the new system put in place without further delay.

As I have said, Met Éireann is enhancing its weather warning system. It is bringing in a more localised weather warning system. This system will provide information at a sub-county level, enabling a more targeted and geographically precise approach. It will not just align to county boundaries. Localised warnings will be issued based on where anticipated impacts are expected to occur. The system is already being used in a pre-operational manner by Met Éireann's forecast office. As I have already said, the localised warning system is undergoing usability and understandability assessments. Work is on track for delivery in time for the next storm season. It is not considered best practice to introduce a major change to a national weather warning system during the winter period due to the risk that confusion may occur in relation to this important source of public safety information. It is vital that this move to a localised weather warning system achieves its purpose of providing clearer and more geographically relevant information and direction to the public and emergency management agencies. Met Éireann is following international best practice and the approach adopted by other countries that have comparable localised weather warning systems. Alongside putting in place pre-operational localised warning systems, it is essential to ensure that the new warnings are clearly understandable by those who will use them. This has to be achieved through robust independent scientific research, which includes the use of focus groups. This work is under way at the moment. The objective is to assess how users interpret the information presented, identify any areas of confusion and ensure that the system supports effective decision-making during high-impact weather events. The localised system will be in place before the start of the next storm season.