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IRELAND IS TO receive 17 generators from Poland and Denmark, as thousands in the country are still without power and water after Storm Éowyn.
It’s understood that a number of generators have already arrived today and have been made available to Uisce Éireann.
More are also on their way from Luxembourg.
New figures show that the number of people whose phone service was affected by the storm was two million at the peak. That’s 35% of mobile users.
At peak, over 281,000, or 10% of broadband customers were completely without services.
As of yesterday, around 2.5% of broadband services are impacted and 10% of mobile users.
Around 133,000 homes and businesses remained without power as of 11:30am this morning, while Uisce Éireann said that around 7,500 premises were still without water.
Some people have been told they could wait up to a week before they’re reconnected.
Pressure is mounting on the government to find ways to build resilience build so that the country can be better prepared for the next storm.
A government spokesperson pushed back against claims that it was slow to act, saying the force of the storm was unprecedented.
It was the first time the whole of Ireland was under a Status Red weather warning at once.
Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore has said it is “unforgivable” that the Dáil hasn’t been recalled to coordinate the State response.
She said that power and water outages are a real risk to the lives of vulnerable people, such as the elderly and those with disabilities.
Whitmore says the Defence Forces could be used to help with recovery efforts, as well as reaching those stuck without essentials.
“These are all ideas that could have been put forward and discussed if the government had agreed to recall the Dáil this week to outline their planned response to the crisis. Their refusal to do so is unforgiveable.”
Sinn Fein spokesperson on Agriculture, Food and Marine, Martin Kenny TD, has called on the government to establish an emergency hardship fund for farmers affected by Storm Eowyn, which he says has been “catrastrophic”.
“As the clean-up and restoration of electricity and water services continue in the aftermath of storm Eowyn, farmers are assessing and getting to grips with damage done to their farms,” he said.
“Many farms have had roofs blown off sheds, trees fall on sheds, fences, walls, and farm machinery.”
The Department of Social Protection’s Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is available to provide support to those living in properties directly affected by Storm Éowyn.The scheme does not pay for damage that is covered by insurance policies, nor does it cover commercial, agricultural, or business losses.
The income limits for the scheme are €50,000 for a single person, €90,000 for a couple and €15,000 per dependent child
So far, the Community Welfare Service has dealt with over 1,000 enquiries and issued 636 payments totalling €123,780 following Storm Éowyn.
The new government has committed to developing an Extreme Weather Event Assistance Scheme, which is separate from its existing payout schemes.
The programme for government outlines a commitment to prepare and manage the impacts of extreme weather events “as climate risks continue to rise”.
With reporting by Christina Finn
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€462 less 33% Dirt = €103 per year or €2 er week.
Seriously, how is anyone arguing that €2 per week on €10,000 put away for 3 years is actually a good deal when inflation will be over 2% for the same period.
I get that people dislike Irish banks but this isn’t the correct issue to be highlighting- it just perpetuates the appalling levels of financial illiteracy we have in this country.
Encouraging people to make a less %hitty decision is not good financial advice.
Deposit rates will never beat inflation over the longer term, the entire global financial system is set up to ensure this.
Why not educate people about the benefits of choosing a well diversified low cost investment and actually grow the value of their savings rather than fool them into thinking that 2.46% gross is a good deal.
It’s not – it’s lousy.
@Wombleman: We need to. Its the future of how we earn money when jobs are no longer necessary
@Wombleman: Well said. Not worth the bother moving it, or the ball ache of reporting DIRT….. that’s why deposits are in current not savings accounts
@RC247: that makes no financial sense when moving it actually saves your money eroding with inflation. Irish banks are scamming you & making money off you by doing so!
@Wombleman: The vast majority of people are never going invest in that way. Most don’t even move their money into an account with a higher interest rate. The banks are making money by sticking peoples money on deposit with the ECB and ripping the average saver off. It should not be allowed.
Just moved my BOI, PTSB and An Post savings to TFBank at 3.90% fixed for 1 year.
We desperately need a tax free savings & investments scheme just like the UK ISA system, the Canadian TFSA system or the (unfortunately named) US IRA savings vehicle. In the UK, residents can deposit up to £10,000/yr and earn interest free from tax.
Why would anyone think that a bank will do anything other than take their money?
I dont understand why people are still using Irish banks. It is easy enough to open non-resident accounts in other European countries and avail of better customer service, better rates, and lower fees. Also part of the instant SEPA system unlike the Irish banks which are the only EU country yet to sign up to the protocol because the Irish banks deem it “too costly” to upgrade the technological infrastructure. I think the EU deadline was 2021, yet the Irish banks project it will be 2027 until they can partake in the system.
@Niall English: I thought Ireland was a full SEPA member… Do the Irish banks not ‘play the game’?
I didn’t encounter any problems moving my direct debits to a GB or LT Revolut account before it became IE, both with utilities and with credit card, loans, etc.
@Jerry LeFrog: they are a member of SEPA but they do not have capability of the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer Protocol e.g, instant transfer in 10 seconds. Irish bank transfers still take one working day. Its archaic stuff, technological infrastructure needs a serious upgrade and they complain they dont have the funding for this. Be nice to get into the 21st century banking. They were hoping this would be solved with that app they were going to launch together (BOI, AIB, and PTSB) but that got canned a few months ago.
F the Irish banking cartel!
have your say