LAST UPDATE | 6 Feb

POLITICIANS HAVE BLASTED a suggestion from ESB that customers will face higher costs because of storm Éowyn. 

ESB chief executive Paddy Hayes told RTÉ earlier this week that the disruption from Storm Éowyn will be “significant” and cost the utility company “tens of millions”.

As a result, he said ESB prices will likely rise in 2026.

Junior minister Jerry Buttimer told the Dáil that the comments from Haye’s were “inappropriate” and that he should “reflect” on what he said. 

Labour leader Ivana Bacik has said ESB must not pass on the costs of repairs following Storm Éowyn to consumers.

Bacik said this would be “absolutely unacceptable”.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland she said Hayes’s interview raised “serious concern”.

The Labour leader called for the “state to step up on this” and added: “The Taoiseach acknowledged yesterday that there will be significant costs, but we knew this already.”

In his interview on Tuesday, Hayes also ruled out offering compensation for customers impacted by power outages following Storm Éowyn, arguing that any such payments would “ultimately be paid for by all customers”.

“I think the most appropriate place for this, which the government has taken on, is the humanitarian assistance scheme,” said Hayes.

This scheme is open to homeowners in affected areas who do not have any power or water supply, and includes support to pay for alternative accommodation if necessary.

As of last week, the Department of Social Social Protection issued payments to 1,613 homeowners under the scheme, totalling €316,000 – averaging out to just €195.91 per claim.

However, Tánaiste Simon Harris updated the Dáil today to say this has increased to 4,000 claims now paid out, totaling approximately €800,000 – this averages €200 per claim.

ESB technicians working to restore power following Storm Éowyn James Connolly James Connolly

Trees

Elsewhere, Harris said the government will have to make “big calls” in relation to trees and power lines across the country. 

His comments were made during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil today, in response to a request from Independent Ireland TD Michael Fitzmaurice that the government introduce some sort of regulation to remove trees that are within approximately 30 metres of roads, power lines or communication lines.

“I think you are right on trees,” Harris said in response and added that government is considering “all options”.

“The idea that we’re spending millions, and in this storm, a hell of a lot more than that, restoring power lines that have been knocked down by trees and then putting the lines back up and the trees again. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense, and it is a danger,” Harris said.

The Tánaiste said 12,000 premises across the country remain without power this afternoon as a result of storm Éowyn, down from 13,000 this morning. 

Harris said resilience and preparedness needs to be built up nationally and locally for future storms.

He said it is “absolutely clear” that we are seeing a “very significant change in the climate” and a “very significant increase in severe weather events”.

Grid resilience

Yesterday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Ireland needs “a fundamental rethink in terms of storm resilience”.

Later, Minister for Climate and Energy Darragh O’Brien said an enhanced Winter 2025 resilience plan is to be developed within a month, to be implemented by the ESB between March and October.

The minister said a review will see if any investment projects can be accelerated.

Workers clearing a fallen tree on Grove Park Drive in Dublin in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Speaking this morning, Bacik welcomed this enhanced resilience plan and added that it needs to be “put in place urgently”.

At the peak of the power outages on Friday 24 January, around 768,000 customers were without power.

ESB said it is working towards restoring the customers over the coming days but that in areas with the largest number of faults, some customers may see their estimated restoration times change into the weekend.

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An ESB spokesperson added that in some instances, when carrying out restoration work on main lines, customers whose power has been reconnected “should be aware that power may have to be disconnected again for short periods of time to allow their neighbours to be reconnected”.

“These interruptions ensure that restoration work can safely take place on the system,” said the spokesperson.

Skilled technicians from counterparts in Austria, Finland, France, Britain, Germany and Norway are on the ground in the worst impacted areas, supporting over 2,500 local ESB Networks crews and partner contactors, as well as skilled retirees.   

In addition to the crews deployed, over 1,300 support staff are involved in overseeing damage assessment, emergency call management, logistics and network operations.

‘Awful experiences’

The Dáil yesterday heard of a man who died after medical technology, including sleep apnoea equipment, stopped working as a result of Storm Éowyn.

Sinn Féin TD for Mayo Rose Conway-Walsh said she was informed of the death by a constituent.

Bacik spoke yesterday in the Dáil about someone “who had to wake their dead relative by candlelight, a horrific story”.

She said the government’s response “hasn’t been effective enough” and that there are “serious issues also around the adequacy of the humanitarian assistance scheme”.

While Bacik said this scheme was welcome, she called for a new, extreme weather event assistance scheme.

“That was promised in the program for government and we need to see that brought forward now with greater urgency,” said Bacik.

“These extreme weather events, with climate change, will become more frequent and Government does need to be better prepared.”

With reporting from Jane Matthews