Widow has storm death questions
Widow queries Government advice during killer storm
A WOMAN whose husband died while driving home from work during Storm Ophelia has questioned the Government’s safety warnings on the day.
Fintan Goss, 33, was killed when his car was hit by a tree on October 16.
Yesterday, Fine Gael TD Peter Fitzpatrick told the Taoiseach that Mr Goss’s widow, Pamela, raised serious questions about the lack of clear guidelines for people working in the private sector. He said: ‘Putting safety first was interpreted differently by some employers.’
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THE wife of a man who was killed during Storm Ophelia has questioned the lack of clear safety guidelines issued by the Government on whether private sector staff should travel to work on the day of the storm.
Fintan Goss, 33, died when his car was hit by a tree while travelling home from work on the afternoon of the storm.
The bank worker, from Ravensdale outside Dundalk, had become a father for the second time just weeks earlier, and was just ten minutes from home when the accident happened.
Louth Fine Gael TD Peter Fitzpatrick told the Taoiseach in the Dáil that he had been contacted by Mr Goss’s widow, Pamela, who raised serious questions about the lack of clear guidelines on whether people should travel to work as normal that day. While the Government announced the night before the storm that schools and most government offices would be shut, its National Emergency Coordination Group on Severe Weather issued no specific information on private sector workers. Instead, it warned that ‘all unnecessary travel should be avoided’ and warned people
‘What are the rules?
not to travel during the height of the storm ‘unless absolutely necessary’.
Mr Fitzpatrick told the Taoiseach: ‘I received an email this morning from Pamela Goss, the wife of Mr Fintan Goss who left for work on Monday, October 16th last and did not come home.
‘He died on his way from work in Dundalk during Storm Ophelia.
‘The Goss family have many questions about what happened on the day in question. What are the rules or guidance for employers in respect of dangers during a status red weather warning? What guidelines were issued to employers, the self-employed and those working in the public sector for turning up for work on Monday, October 16th, 2017?’
He said that ‘much has been made’ of the decision to close all the schools in the country in the interests of safety. However, it was unclear what protocols should be in place for private employers.
He said: ‘There was widespread confusion before, during and after Storm Ophelia as to the position regarding private sector employers and other parts of the public sector.’ Speaking about the Taoiseach’s previous condolences, which were offered on behalf of the country and the Government, he said those comments were of little comfort to the family.
‘The Taoiseach conveyed the condolences of the country and Government to the Goss family and stated the most important issue was to ensure no one else loses his or her life. He also pleaded with people to put safety first. Those are fine words but they are of little comfort to the Goss family because putting safety first was interpreted differently by some employers and managers.’
Mr Fitzpatrick told the Irish Daily Mail last night that he gave the Taoiseach the correspondence adding that ‘this can not happen again. A protocol needs to be brought in to make sure of this.’
Mr Varadkar told the Dáil that he has commissioned a report to look into the response to Storm Ophelia including to examine what measures should be taken
‘This can’t happen again’
during a weather ‘red alert’. Once again extending his condolences to Mr Goss’s family, he said that the Cabinet had discussed the response to Ophelia on Tuesday just gone.
He said: ‘Although I believe that, in the round, people accept the storm was well managed, there are always lessons that can be learned and lessons can be learned from the deaths that occurred.
‘A report will be done and submitted to Cabinet in January 2018. One of the issues it will examine is how we can better define what public safety warnings mean. It is acknowledged that there is a very clear mechanism in place for closing schools and public officers.
‘There was, however, confusion regarding what private sector businesses and self-employed persons should do. We acknowledge that there is a shortcoming in this area from which we intend to learn. I hope we will give some clarity on this issue on which we should have an answer by January.’
Pamela Goss previously told family and friends who gathered at her late husband’s funeral: ‘‘Even though we were only married for 16 months to me that was nothing to dwell on because we were childhood sweethearts.’
‘I am so proud to stand here today as your wife, your best friend and mother to our beautiful babies, Laragh and Henry.
‘I know they will always have you with them.’