There is continued anger in communities about the Government’s response to Storm Éowyn with a minister admitting that people are "at boiling point."
A week on from the storm, retired ESB staff have been drafted in to help restore power, as well as workers from the UK, Austria, Finland, France, the Netherlands and Germany.
The ESB has now reconnected 682,000 customers, but around 86,000 homes, farms, and businesses remain without supply. It is expected the majority of people and schools will have power back by today, but it will take more time to reconnect more isolated areas.
Nicholas Tarrant, managing director of ESB Networks, said it is difficult to predict the exact dates when power will be restored to the customers who remain without it seven days on.
The Department of Social Protection has now paid a total of €225,345 in humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, with 1,150 payments issued since the weather event hit the country last week.
The ESB said that in addition to the crews deployed, over 1,300 support staff were involved in overseeing damage assessment, emergency call management, logistics, and network operations.
January 31, 2025: Storm Éowyn damage in Co Longford. (RollingNews.ie)
Other outages
Meanwhile, Irish Water said approximately 2,800 premises remained without water as of lunchtime on Thursday.
Around 7.5% of mobile phone service users are experiencing some level of degradation of service, while 1.5% of fixed service users are without services.
The Central Applications Office (CAO) deadline has been extended by five days until February 6, for those students who have been impacted and need to complete their college applications.
Junior Minister Hildegarde Naughton said she accepted it took too long to set up the 333 community emergency response hubs in the wake of Storm Éowyn, and that people are "really angry, it is at boiling point."
"There has been a huge community response right across the country… but we do need to plan better the next time," she told RTÉ’s News at One.
Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore said Ms. Naughton’s comments "amount to a tacit admission that the Government completely botched the handling of its response."
She added: "Her [Ms. Naughton’s] damning admission will bring little comfort to the tens of thousands of people still waiting for their power supply to be restored."
January 24, 2025: Storm Éowyn damage in Co Meath. (RollingNews.ie)
Generators
17 generators have been offered to Ireland by Poland and Denmark, with two due to arrive this week. More generators are arriving from Romania today and will be brought by the Defence Forces to the areas that need them.
The Civil Defence is helping to move generators and bring elderly people to hubs, as well as aiding the ESB.
Tánaiste Simon Harris said: "I want to thank those involved on the ground in what has been an enormous humanitarian effort in response to an unprecedented weather event.
"There is still much work to do but every effort is being made to restore power and water to the homes that need it as quickly as possible."
The Programme for Government includes a pledge to develop an Extreme Weather Event Assistance Scheme, which the Government has indicated it will prioritise.
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne said: "Nothing is being left off the table in terms of resources, personnel or commitment. The damage to the [electricity] network in some parts of the country was simply unprecedented, but the restoration efforts will not cease until everyone is reconnected."
*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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