Days to go before power is restored to some areas of Offaly

THERE are a number of areas around Offaly still without power following Storm Éowyn which hit the country in the early hours of last Friday morning January 24.

The ESB has given a restoration date of between January 29, and February 2 for some areas still affected in the county.

In Tullamore faults remain at Clonminch and Srah. Other areas affected as are around Pullogh, Clara, Daingean, Ballinagar, Clonmore, Ballinahown and Croghan. Power outages further south in the county have all been repaired.

Crews are being brought in from abroad to help with the restoration work.

Water supply was also affected across Offaly. Uisce Eireann said crews are on the ground in the county working to restore water supplies.

A technical issue arose at Toberdaly Water Treatment Plant and customers in Rhode Village experienced no water or very low pressure for a period of time. Uisce Eireann said ''expert crews have been deployed.'' It was expected that water would be restored by 5pm yesterday Monday January 27 to Marrion Terrace and Hillside Estate.

Meanwhile, Offaly County Council met with members of An Garda Siochana, the HSE and the ESB. Chaired by Chief Executive, Anna Marie Delaney. Offaly County Council has contacted local community centres who are providing support in areas experiencing power outages. The Chief Executive expressed thanks to those centres who had opened their doors to those affected to provide showers, charging facilities, tea, coffee and water. Offaly County Council, in association with Uisce Éireann says it will provide a one-off supply of bottled water to community centres in Rhode and Walsh Island that need access to water.

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 scheme will:

Stage 1: Provide emergency support payments (for food, clothing, etc.) 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.

Independent Offaly TD Carol Nolan has been critical of the response and said ''the political impact of Storm Eowyn has been to ‘blow the roof off the carefully constructed narrative that Ireland’s major infrastructural deficits are a thing of the past.''

Deputy Nolan said even allowing for the relatively rare nature of the event, it was an international embarrassment to see the country crippled by such extensive damage to its electricity, telecoms, and water infrastructure:

''This event, which lasted a little over 24 hours has brought the country to its knees, while leaving hundreds of thousands of homes exposed to a prolonged absence of energy of any kind,'' said Deputy Nolan.

''Clearly the workers in our local authorities and in the ESB have gone above and beyond and I commend them for their heroic work to restore power and facilities to those impacted by the storm. But at this stage it is simply tragic and indeed infuriating that every time we have a significant weather event our networks essentially collapse.''

''Where is the evidence that we are ready to future-proof our systems against further collapses of this kind? It is just not good enough that we must rely on generator capacity being brought in from other EU member states.”

“I know from the emails and calls that I received through Friday, Saturday and Sunday, that there is enormous frustration out there in Offaly and beyond; not so much regarding the nature of the response from utilities workers, but more so about how we keep finding ourselves being put in this position as a country.”

“We are a country awash with billions in exchequer revenue and yet despite this the perception persists, with clear justification, that we cannot even get the basics right. That has to change,'' concluded Deputy Nolan.