Offaly Civil Defence praised for its role during freezing weather

Offaly's Civil Defence has been praised for the assistance it's been providing to the emergency services and local communities during the prolonged spell of low temperatures over the last week.

Offaly Civil Defence is one of 28 Civil Defence Units nationally which have been mobilised during the extreme weather event in order to respond to requests for assistance from agencies such as the Gardai and the HSE.

A statement issued by the Department of Defence today (Thursday) highlighted the contribution made by Civil Defence units in Offaly and right across the country over recent days.

"The range and volume of requests has been very significant, with hundreds of taskings completed over the past five days, and hundreds of critical care staff and patients transported," it said.

"Such is the volume of requests received, that it has not been possible to track the total number of people assisted with general welfare visits and other assistance.

"In addition to the full-time Civil Defence Officers and Assistant Civil Defence Officers, hundreds of volunteers have responded by working long hours over consecutive days using their training and experience to assist those impacted and often cut-off from services."

Tánaiste and Defence Minister Micheál Martin also praised the Civil Defence teams and volunteers for their "tireless" efforts in response to the severe weather.

Offaly Civil Defence is currently in the process of moving into a new headquarters at the Axis Business Park in Tullamore.