The Taoiseach has said he “fully understands the anger and frustration” of people who have gone without electricity for a week following Storm Éowyn.
The number of homes, farms and businesses still without power following last Friday’s storm stood at some 74,000 on Friday, down by 694,000 in comparison to the peak this day last week, according to ESB Networks.
Speaking to reporters in Cork on Friday, Micheál Martin said anyone without power for such an extended period of time would be “very anxious and very worried.”
He said it was “a very severe hardship” for those affected and that repair crews were doing “everything they possibly can” to address the problem.
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“Obviously, as you go more rural (for line repairs) it gets more challenging. The numbers you can bring back (to the grid) with every repair is smaller.”
ESB Networks said it still has many faults to address and it is aware of several potentially very dangerous incidents where members of the public have unknowingly approached fallen electricity infrastructure.
It reiterated a warning to people to never touch or approach fallen cables as they are live and extremely dangerous.
Uisce Éireann said there were fewer than 800 premises without water due to the storm damage as of Friday lunchtime.
In areas where water has not yet returned, alternative supplies will remain in place, it said.
There are around 380 group water schemes across rural Ireland, serving almost 200,000 people.
Mark Farrelly, chief executive of the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, said scheme have been “significantly impacted” by the lack of power and communication networks.
However, he said the use of generators and efforts of volunteers meant just 15 group water schemes, covering some 1,600 households, remain without any power.
The Taoiseach said a meeting took place on Friday to “evaluate the impact of the storm” and consider related issues that we have to address into the future.
“I have already asked for work to be done to accelerate investment in the (energy) grid – to future-proof it and make it more resilient,” Mr Martin said, adding that the sums involved would be substantial.
“We need to prioritise (power) transmission corridors and to ensure that the grid is absolutely protected into the future.”
The Fianna Fáil leader said the number and severity of storms has increased over the last decade and climate change is “having an impact to a significant degree on our country”.
“We have to adjust and adapt,” he added. “In the next National Development Plan there will be significant funding for the size of that adaptation. We are doing the flood schemes but an awful lot more needs to be provided to deal with the impact of climate change.”
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