TÁNAISTE LEO VARADKAR has said there will be no blackouts or brownouts this winter due to two of the country’s power stations coming back online.
It is understood that Varadkar told tonight’s Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting that both Huntstown station – which is owned and operated by Energia – and Whitegate station – operated by Bord Gáis – were back online.
The stations had been shut down for maintenance for most of the year due to what the national grid operator, EirGrid, described as “unexpected and significant failure” of equipment.
Concerns had been raised in recent months about the possibility of blackouts this winter due to shortfalls in the supply of electricity.
The national grid operator had predicted that Ireland could face electricity shortfalls over the next five years due to increased demand and lower supply due to the closure of a number of fossil fuel-fired power stations.
It is understood that Varadkar also told the meeting that it was not yet clear if vaccines will need to be tweaked to combat the Omicron Covid-19 variant. However, he encouraged all to avail of the three-dose programme.
It comes as the World Health Organization’s emergencies director Dr Mike Ryan said the Omicron variant appears to be no worse than other coronavirus strains based on preliminary data, but warned that more research is needed to judge its severity.
Ryan also said that there was no sign that Omicron could fully sidestep protections provided by existing Covid vaccines.
The meeting also heard an announcement on business supports for those affected by the new Covid restrictions is expected tomorrow.
On a Green MEP’s letter targeting young farmers applying for credit, Varadkar said it was wrong to single out this sector. He said Fine Gael want to encourage more people into farming.
He also said some farmers may require borrowing to upgrade or modernise their farms to make them more sustainable, adding that Fine Gael will always support the farming sector.
With reporting from Christina Finn
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