Independent Ireland TD Michael Fitzmaurice has called for the government to convene to address the ongoing impact of Storm Éowyn.
Last week’s storm caused widespread destruction, with 768,000 people originally left without power, and 84,000 people left without water.
On Thursday night, January 30, in the region of 86,000 people had no power, but ESB Networks said it had restored power to 682,000 customers since the storm made landfall.
According to the ESB Networks, there are still “many faults on the electricity network” following Storm Éowyn.
Deputy Fitzmaurice said: “From what I have seen myself, given the scale of the damage to infrastructure, the targets being set by ESB Networks are realistic, if not optimistic. The reality is that many affected areas will likely take at least as long as predicted to restore, if not longer.
“That is why the government must step in and put an emergency accommodation scheme in place. Families who have been without basic facilities to cook, wash, or heat their homes for a week, now staring down another, need a solution.”
The ESB has said it is providing hotel accommodation “as appropriate, for teams supporting local ESB Networks crews in the worst affected areas that have been deployed from less impacted parts of the country”.
However the independent TD continued: “This should not be a drawn-out, bureaucratic mess. Those affected should be able to use their meter point reference number (MPRN) to access the scheme, and the costs should be shared between the state and ESB Networks.”
Deputy Fitzmaurice
The Independent Ireland TD has said there is precedent for the government providing support to communities in need.
“We have seen before that when there is political will, solutions can be delivered. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Ireland welcomed over 100,000 refugees and provided emergency accommodation at a cost of over €2.5 billion,” he said.
“That was the morally right thing to do, but now, the morally right thing to do for Irish families who have been left stranded in the cold, is to show the same urgency in response to their needs.”
Deputy Fitzmaurice believes this is an opportunity for the government to “show they respect the people of rural Ireland”.
“The bottom line is simple; thousands of people are suffering through no fault of their own, mainly in rural areas. The government must act now,” he concluded.