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LAST UPDATE | 26 Jan
THE DAMAGE CAUSED by Storm Éowyn to Ireland’s electricity grid is “extensive”, according to a Government minister, with ESB saying that 100,000 will remain without power until the week after next.
In its latest update this evening, ESB Networks said it had restored power supply to 490,000 homes, farms and businesses, but that 278,000 customers remain without supply .
Earlier, the utility said that the vast majority of people should have electricity restored by Friday, 31 January, but that an estimated 100,000 will have their electricity restored in the week following that.
Brodband provider Eir also said it was continuing its recovery operation to restore broadband to people affected, after what it called “the most significant weather event in living memory in terms of its widespread and significant impact on the fixed and mobile telecommunications network”.
“Since Friday, eir has restored fixed and broadband services to 110,000 homes and businesses, while service has been restored to more than 500 mobile sites in the same period,” the provider said in a statement.
“Currently it is estimated that 94,000 homes and businesses customers remain without broadband.”
Earlier, incoming Social Protection and Rural Affairs Minister Dara Calleary said that the Government was “throwing everything” at the issue.
He also confirmed that the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is available to provide support to those living in properties directly affected by Storm Éowyn.
“The damage is extensive but we are throwing everything at it, I can assure people we are throwing everything at it,” Calleary told RTÉ’s The Week in Politics.
He said electrical technicians from England had travelled to help address the issue, but because of storm damage in Scotland “we don’t have the kind of pool we’d normally have”. He said technicians were also travelling from France.
Calleary told RTÉ that while initial supports would be means tested, he said the Government would be “flexible” with regards to people’s needs.
It has since been confirmed that the Department of Social Protection will adopt a three-stage approach.
The first stage will provide emergency support payments for items such as food and clothing, and this Stage is not income tested and is based on the immediate need of impacted individuals.
The second stage will replace kitchen appliances and basic furniture, while stage three will focus on damage to a household’s primary residency.
The second and third stages are means tested, and the income limits are €50,000 for a single person, €90,000 for a couple, and €15,000 per dependent child.
A spokesperson said “reduced or tapered level of support may be provided in cases where your household income is above the limits”.
Speaking earlier to RTÉ, an ESB spokesperson said crews have been out over the weekend to assess the damage.
“Based on that information, we’ve updated the all the restoration times now in PowerCheck.ie,” said the spokesperson.
“It really is unprecedented, the damage that we’re facing out there now on the ground.”
Ireland has activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and has made a request for high-capacity generators to support critical infrastructure operators.
Local authorities will also establish, in the worst affected areas, Emergency Response Hubs to assist people with basic needs such as water, hot food, phone charging, broadband access, shower and clothes washing facilities.
Not all local authorities will need to establish Emergency Response Hubs.
Meanwhile, around 109,000 people across the country still have no water as of lunchtime today. An additional 112,000 people are now being supplied by schemes where generators have been deployed by Uisce Éireann crews.
Supplies for a further 126,000 people are at risk in areas where power is yet to be restored.
Areas most impacted are along the West Coast and Midlands and include Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cavan, Monaghan, Westmeath, Donegal and Longford.
Uisce Eireann repair crews are on the ground across the country working to restore water supplies and operations at wastewater plants.
Crews are also actively sourcing and transferring generators to sites where power has not been restored.
Head of Water Operations at Uisce Éireann, Margaret Attridge noted that while positive progress had been made overnight, the number of people experiencing loss of supply due to power outages remains significant.
“Our crews are on the ground in all impacted areas working to restore water services as quickly as possible, but given the extent of the damage to the power network, it may take some time before full service is restored everywhere,” said Attridge.
“In locations where water supplies have been impacted for longer periods, we are deploying alternative water supplies.
“Details of these supplies and their locations are being posted across our website and social media channels as they become available,” she added.
A series of weather warnings were in place last night and into this morning and early afternoon, with the majority of them now expired.
A Status Yellow warning for Cork, Kerry and Waterford will come into effect tonight at 11pm and last until 9am tomorrow morning.
With reporting from Cormac Fitzgerald
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Lovely open turf fire these past few nights.My neighbour with the full retrofit with air to water says he is envious.
Always burning bright supplying me with light fire leaping high and strong lasting as ever long as it is my sight.
@Willie Marty: no power back here until Friday.
@Willie Marty: I bet you live (in your cold house) for these few days every year. Like my neighbour in his ice box, who revels in his ignorance when we get a few days of a heatwave every few summers. Delighted with himself, boring everyone with tales of how modern houses are too warm.
@Brian M: he’s merely stating he enjoys his open fire. It’s hardwired in us all to take comfort from such a thing.
@Willie Marty: I’ve long been bemoaning the burning of soil for ‘make warm’ and turns out we very much need it! Carry on sir
@j m m: Well, he could have left it at that then. But the jealous comments about warm, properly insulated houses are never far away.
@Willie Marty: Turf giving a leaping high flame??? Hmmmmm.
@Brian M: not a jealous bone in my body.In fact i love to help my neighbours and helped many of them out during the recent snow.I suspect youre the one with hangups.You need to lighten up a bit and get out there and mix a bit more.
@Me Me: great black turf back here.Mighty stuff”.It would warm the cockles of your heart.”.
@Brian M: Fresh air has never killed anyone, neither has cold water.
@Willie Marty: you will notice our leaders did not even comment once on the matter nor support anything.
that tells volumes !!!
@Willie Marty: Hi Willie. Every time there’s a power outage you see the same comments on here. Usually involves people revelling in their open fires and sneering at the ‘eejits’ who have spent good money to upgrade their homes to make them warm and efficient year round. Most of the comments come from a place of ignorance/begrudgery/jealousy. I don’t know you from Adam but if you’re genuine then I salute you, but you’ll have to indulge my initial scepticism given the general level of trolling and band minded commentary on here. Enjoy the fire!
@Athena: Grew up in a house with gales blowing through it burning oil 24/7 to heat. I’d much rather live in the comfort of a modern, warm home with an efficient heating system. But maybe that’s just me.
@Willie Marty: Air to water wil never replace the open turf fire, with the Marino waltz playing on the gramaphone.
@Brian M: He just said he enjoys the heat from his turf fire. Read, before commenting on his “cold house”.
@Brian M: You sound like a bride jilted at the altar. Why get so animated about someone who only says he enjoys the comfort of a turf fire?
@Patrick MC Dermott: Says the guy who replies to me with three messages. He can enjoy his fire all his like. That wasn’t the point.
@Athena: get into cold water for a while, we will know the outcome come you won’t.
@Willie Marty: You won’t enjoy the respiratory disease when you’re older.
@brendan C5: Dear, I was responding to the above comment regarding Washington with cold water.
Doesn’t kill anyone, actually finishing off with a cold shower will help a healthy person’s immune system.
@Brian M: Overheated more likely in most cases, on account of the convenience of pushing a button.
The more efficient and convenient, the more it gets used.
And it’ll just be a few more years before the heat pump crowd will start “cooling” their houses in the summer.
While believing they’re doing something for the environment and the planet, they’ve just fallen into the trap of becoming consumers of an artificially created new demand.
@Brian M: my house, built almost 100 years ago, isn’t retrofitted and it’s freezing. When it’s windy I’ve to keep the heating on almost full time costing me a fortune. One of my colleagues, who lives in an apartment built about 20 years ago, had only turned on the heating twice in all the years they’ve lived there and that was to dry clothes! it’s so well insulated it never gets cold. I love my house but at times like this I really would love something more energy efficient
@JoeJoe Kilbride: Sell it and move into a more modern property if you can afford it
@JoeJoe Kilbride: Wrap the whole lot in cling film and you’ll see an immediate improvement
@Willie Marty: you can’t cook on it , you can’t light the house with it ,
I have a open fire to buy it is very limited so you can drop the romantic sh@@e
@Athena: “neither has cold water.”
You ever heard of drowning??
@Athena: what a pile of sh@@e
@sean weir: your ancestors used to cook on it but of course you wouldnt know anything about that because youre too grand to admit it.BTW whats wrong with being romantic .We cant all be stuffy like you.
@Pat Barry: maybe or maybe not.Ive never smoked so that might help.No guarantee you wont get respiratory problems in your airtight house either.
@Athena: I suggest you look up hypothermia, specifically when it comes to the vulnerable….no electricity coupled with wintry/snow showers and potentially no water either can be a deadly combination for some….so yes, cold air and cold water can kill
@Willie Marty: Enjoy your cave eating mammoth steaks over an open fire with tharg and ug and all the other cavemen
Power gone again, this time with a 3 day restoration. that makes 7 power outages in 2025 so far. Wish I could charge so much for such a service.
@Thesaltyurchin: to be fair, this specific outage was caused by one of the worst weather events since the 60s. The rest of them are worth complaining about though.
@Thesaltyurchin: Power goes on and off as they work on lines.
@Thesaltyurchin: You must be my neighbour in north Leitrim? It’s the plantations of Sitka spruce trees. A breath of wind and they take out half the electrical grid
You can’t beat an open fire on a cold January day :)
2025 ESB networks will report a loss and cite unprecedented storms they will also push for electricity price increases insurance companies will increase policies to highest level to cover mega payouts due to unprecedented damage and claims by policy holders I’m no Nostradamus but this will probably be the case.
@Nemethon: So what about the 800 million profit ESB made last year..wont be spend anything near that on repairs …
I’d say a lot of families delighted to have a stove or open fireplace these days. Spare a thought for those poor families freezing in the heat powered ice boxes with no chimneys waiting for the government to restore power.
@Emily Murphy: never ceases to amaze me how begrudging Irish people can be.
Clean out means to cleanse, right?
As in ethnically.
@Padraic O’ Sullivan: he looked horrific. Be doing well to get through the 4 years.
@Padraic O’ Sullivan: 100% .” President of Peace” my hole.. this has been coming down the tracks for a while and not the 1st time we’ve heard the “clean it up/out” line. Kushner said last year “but from Israel’s perspective I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up”.. this was the guy that was tasked with preparing a ” peace plan ” for the region under Dumps last administration.. They have their eyes set squarely on the ” very valuable waterfront property ‘ in Palestine. Despicable human beings.
@Padraic O’ Sullivan: no sign of the “president of peace” commenters now all gone quiet, while jizrael getting ready to carpet bomb Gaza and annex the west bank, while ffg shelves the occupied territories bill, companies like redhat, teva, and IBM should be kicked out of this country and anyone who works for them including google has blood on their hands
@Róisín Flemping-Bunt-Himmler: special song down in Cork for you
@Mike B: yea Mike. You and the other Paddystinians will provide alternative employment opportunities.
@Fran Ken: haha Paddystinians true as, and the ‘new Irish’ can go swing too Ireland .Inc is where all their allegiances lay. The country is an absolute joke, a shell of a shell pillaged and destroyed from within by the subversive west brits, they never left.
@Padraic O’ Sullivan: No it means ‘removal of corruption’ not a bad idea could do with a thorough cleansing of the hall of Dail eireann
@Tom L: Where are you getting this quoted ” removal of corruption ‘ BS from ? “You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,” that’s a direct quote from him and is nothing short of ethnic cleansing. How much more deranged are you fanboys gonna get ?
@Fran Ken: plenty of z1onist bribe money floating around
Nice bit of firewood chop baby chop
@Dick Cleere: I intend to ;-)
@Dick Cleere: And carbon neutral too, unlike fossil fuels.
Why put electric cables and poles next to trees. The should cut down the trees next to the poles & cables to stop this from happening
@liam mc meel:
60 year old poles in the middle of fields snapping like matchsticks not a tree
Can someone explain why the water authority doesn’t have generators to keep the flow of water going??
Is it possible that the recent event is a random storm or will such violent winds become regular winter events.Might resources be made available for Irish Water to have back up generators on site ,to keep distribution systems in play
It will be interesting to see the plan for helping those impacted by the weather ?
Time to put all electric cables underground
@Mick Cullen: it creates as many problems as it solves
Maybe if the Councils around the country kept trees cut back from electricity poles they’re be less outages. Proper management is required
@Colette Mooney: the council can’t go onto a farmers land to cut back trees and it’s close to impossible to cut back all the trees away from power lines and it’s not just trees that brings down power lines this was a serious storm that we are not used to so no point trying to blame the authorities
Off grid. No issues with electricity or water.
@Concerned Driver: By posting here you are very much ON grid!
@Me Me: haha.
@Me Me: off grid means independent water, power supply and no landline.
@Me Me: everyone is driving to local parking spots to get a little bit of internet on their phones.
Being without water is worse than being without power though.
Save Palestinians from the terrorist states of israel and usa
Years of bad infrastructure what else would you except, sending crews out to repair outdated lines, really
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How stupid am I. How do they have broadband without power? Is there that many people generating their own power?
@Jay Kay: I presume it means that their broadband connection is technically fixed and “working”, though many probably still can’t use it because of having no power for their router.
Typical.
Pish
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