Damage sustained on individual farms from the mini-tornado in Wexford last week was in the “hundreds of thousands”, a meeting in Clongeen was told.

There was a lot of anger at the lack of coverage from RTÉ “If a trampoline blew over in south Dublin, it would be on the Six-One news,” one farmer said. “Our sheds and houses blew down in a tornado, and there wasn’t a word about it”.

While local councillor Michael Sheehan pointed out that a Red Cross Humanitarian Scheme can deliver up to €5,000 within two days, many said this wouldn’t sort their issues.

“There are rooves gone, there is structural damage that needs proper assessment, and there’s only four weeks to Christmas.”

“This is unprecedented in Ireland” said George Lawlor, the chair of Wexford county council.

He pledged to fully brief all five Wexford TDs when the council meet them this Friday (18 November), with the intention that they would go directly to Government “or beyond” on behalf of affected families.

“We need a response to this, and we need an Irish version of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency for future events,” he insisted.