Press release
National Emergency Co-ordination Group meets as whole of government response continues following Storm Éowyn
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
The National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) met today (Monday) with all government departments, response agencies, including local authorities, ESB Networks, Eirgrid, Irish Water, and emergency services in attendance. All efforts are being concentrated on restoring power, water, telecommunications and other services to homes, farms and businesses following Storm Éowyn.
ESB Networks continues today to mobilise all available resources to restore power connections as soon as possible alongside additional crews coming from the UK. Power has been restored to 540,000 customers; however some 228,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without supply.
Unprecedented damage has been done by Storm Éowyn. ESB Networks have updated the PowerCheck website with expected restoration times. By Friday 31 January the vast majority of those impacted by Storm Éowyn will have had their supply restored. After this, the remaining customers (approximately 100,000), will progressively have their supply restored over the course of the following week.
Estimated restoration times will continue to be updated as the restoration continues to progress. Weather conditions may impact on the restoration work.
Telecommunications and water supplies have also been significantly affected. In most cases, this is due to knock-on effects of power outages, with assessments continuing.
A key focus for government, the NECG, and all organisations involved is to find ways to support power restoration works that will make the most impact in terms of restoring water, communications and other services. Local authorities are coordinating a local level humanitarian assistance response to the needs of people who have been significantly impacted by the storm.
Local Coordination Groups are now in place in 16 Local Authority Areas – Cavan, Cork County, Donegal, Galway County, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick City and County, Longford, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow.
Fourteen Emergency Response Hubs are already up and running - eleven in Cavan; two in Laois and one in Westmeath. Several more Emergency Response Hubs are in the process of being set up and local authorities are also linking in with existing community-led hubs to provide supports.
Emergency Response Hubs are assisting people with basic needs such as water, hot food, phone charging, broadband access and shower facilities.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said:
“I want to assure all those impacted by the aftermath of Storm Éowyn that everything is being done to bring about the restoration of services as soon as possible in the days ahead. I want to acknowledge how difficult this current situation is for homes and businesses around the country.
“We are seeing huge resilience in local communities in the face of the unprecedented damage caused by Storm Éowyn. Government will provide all the necessary supports to the households and businesses who have been impacted by this storm. Cabinet will also meet on Wednesday to decide on measures to further support people.
“I want to recognise the ongoing efforts of all the state agencies and emergency services who have been working tirelessly to restore water, electricity and communications to hundreds of thousands of people across the country. In particular I want to thank the ESB for their continued work in restoring power supply and we acknowledge the support of the UK in assisting with these efforts."
Tánaiste Simon Harris said:
“I am very conscious that there are people still without electricity supply and without water. Everything that can be done, is being done to restore supply as quickly as possible.
“As Minister for Defence, I am very pleased to see the Air Corps has been assisting the ESB Networks, and continues to be available for any requests where we can help in a practical sense.
“I am also very grateful to the Civil Defence, who have been carrying out a number of activities, particularly in the North and North-West of the country. That support from the Air Corps, the Defence Forces, and the Civil Defence will continue in the days ahead.”
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne said:
“I know many people are facing huge challenges in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, and I want to assure them that all available resources are being used to get services reconnected as quickly as possible.
“The damage caused to our power infrastructure last week was of a far greater scale than anything we’ve seen before, and I want to thank all the crews and emergency services who continue to work around the clock on this unprecedented recovery effort. The ESB has reconnected 540,000 people since Friday and this work will not stop until everyone affected has their service restored.
“The National Emergency Coordination Group (NECG) and its sub-groups continue to meet regularly to make sure our response – both in terms of infrastructure restoration and humanitarian supports – is co-ordinated across all of Government.
“In the worst affected areas, local authorities are establishing Emergency Response Hubs where water, hot food, phone charging, broadband access, shower and clothes washing facilities will be available. Local Coordination Groups have been set up in the local authority areas most impacted by the storm, and the NECG is helping to make sure local and national organisations are working together to support individuals and communities, and to ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable are prioritised.”
Minister for Transport, Climate, Environment and Energy, Darragh O'Brien said:
“Storm Éowyn has been unprecedented in terms of the impact it has had on households, businesses and farms across Ireland. ESB Networks continues to work at pace to reconnect customers, with 540,000 customers restored as of 12pm today. I am liaising closely with all energy and telecommunications operators to ensure that all necessary supports are being provided to technicians as part of the restoration efforts.
“We’re extremely mindful of those households and businesses who are still facing in to a number of days without power, and there is a strong and coordinated response to ensure that no-one is without the support they need at this time. I’d like to thank the ESB Network crews on the ground for their efforts to date, and I’d also like to thank the crews from our neighbouring countries providing much needed help at this time.”
Keith Leonard, Chair of the NECG said:
“Our main focus now is twofold. Firstly, we are pulling out all the stops to ensure that power and services are restored to everybody as soon as possible despite the significant challenges in the aftermath of the storm. Also, while people await the restoration of power and services, the National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) is working to ensure a humanitarian response – which is joined up and co-ordinated – assists those who need our help in this difficult time.
“While local authorities are best placed to gauge the level of response required in their areas, the NECG is helping to make sure they have all the support they need from government departments and organisations. We are making sure that local authorities can coordinate and share information and available resources amongst each other, and in particular make sure that the most vulnerable people are identified and prioritised for supports.
“The NECG Sub-Group on Humanitarian Assistance will continue to meet regularly to support and co-ordinate the huge efforts being made to provide humanitarian relief to those who need it.”
NECG Sub Groups will meet again later today to continue to progress work in their respective areas.
The full NECG will meet again tomorrow, and work will continue throughout the day and week to coordinate the response and recovery.
228,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without power following Storm Éowyn.
ESB Networks is mobilising all available resources to restore power to homes, farms and businesses as soon as possible. Already power has been restored to 540,000 customers and intensive work will continue.
ESB Networks have updated the PowerCheck website with the expected restoration times: this shows that by Friday 31 January, the vast majority of those impacted by Storm Éowyn will have their supply restored. After this the remaining customers, approximately 100,000, will progressively have their supply restored over the course of the following week.
Estimated Restoration Times will continue to be updated as the restoration continues to progress.
Support is being received from Great Britain and we have requested further support from electricity network operators across Europe. In addition, ESB Networks crews from the south and east of the country are being redeployed to the worst impacted areas once restoration in their areas has been completed, while skilled retirees from ESB Networks are also being redrafted to assist.
An important Public Safety Message: ESB Networks reminds the pubic to Stay Safe, Stay Clear of fallen electricity wires. If you come across fallen wires or damaged electricity network, never, ever touch or approach these as they are LIVE and extremely dangerous. Please report any damage to electricity infrastructure by calling 1800 372 999.
Uisce Eireann repair crews are again on the ground across the country today working to restore water supplies and wastewater plant and networks.
There are approximately 84,000 customers without water as of lunchtime today, and a further 100,000 are at risk.
The estimated effect of Storm Éowyn on the national telecoms userbase was the largest in Comreg’s recording history. Repair and restoration work over the weekend has made significant improvements.
As of 10am (Monday, 27 January):
The most impacted areas continue to be the North, West & Midlands.
Those affected by Fixed Service failures will likely experience full disconnection. Those affected by Mobile Service failures are unlikely to experience complete disconnection. They may experience disruption on data and voice; text messaging is much less likely to be affected.
Calls to emergency services utilise any available network, regardless of operator subscription. These are expected to continue to function as normal nationwide. Restoration of Mobile Service will focus on voice and SMS initially; data services may be slower to return. ComReg (Commission for Communications Regulation) is monitoring the situation and liaising with operators; further updates will be provided over the coming days.
Local Coordination Groups now in place in 16 Local Authority Areas – Cavan, Cork County, Donegal, Galway County, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick City and County, Longford, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow.
Email addresses up and running in 8 counties and phone lines in 6 counties with 4 counties in progress:
Laois:
Cavan:
Westmeath:
The majority of schools opened today (Monday), however, a number of schools have taken the decision to remain closed for safety reasons. Schools are advised that if they have any issues caused by the storm, the board of management can make the decision to remain closed until it is safe to reopen.
In carrying out any safety checks of buildings and facilities, school authorities should take into account the current and expected weather conditions, any damage that might have been caused to school buildings due to the storm, the restoration of power and the safety of the school community.
HSE services throughout the country saw significant disruptions due to Storm Éowyn.
Updates, advice and details of further health service disruptions on the HSE website and the HSE will also provide regular updates through local media and on national and regional social media channels.
The Irish Blood Transfusion Service has advised of an urgent shortage of blood products and current requests for donations. Locations for donations can be found on the Irish Blood Transfusion Service website.
The Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary has confirmed that the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is available to provide support to those living in properties directly affected by Storm Éowyn.
The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme mitigates hardship by providing income tested financial assistance schemes to households affected by a severe weather event.
The Department of Social Protection adopts a three-stage approach:
Stage 1: Provide emergency support payments (for food, clothing) in the immediate aftermath of the event. This Stage is not income tested and is based on the immediate need of impacted individuals.
Stage 2: Replace white goods and basic furniture.
Stage 3: Focus on damage to a household’s primary residency.
The scheme will not cover losses covered by an insurance policy.
The income limits for the scheme are:
Reduced or tapered level of support may be provided in cases where your household income is above the limits.
If any homeowner affected by severe weather needs to access these supports, emergency Community Welfare Service contact details are available here: gov.ie - Customer Notices.
Nationally all road users are being advised to be aware of the dangers that may remain following the storm such as downed pylons, lines, trees, branches, and other debris which could block roads. Obey any road closures or diversions put in place by local authorities and An Garda Síochána.
Most transport services have now returned to normal, but passengers are still advised to contact their operator for the most up to date information.
Farmers are advised of the following: