Over 200,000 homes and businesses still without power as Storm Éowyn clean-up continues

The aftermath of Storm Éowyn continues to cause widespread disruption across Ireland with 204,000 homes, farms and businesses still without electricity as of Monday evening. 

The storm, which caused unprecedented damage to the national electricity network, initially left 768,000 customers without power marking one of the most severe weather events in Irish history.

ESB Networks has successfully restored power to 564,000 customers, with crews working to reconnect the remaining households. The National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) convened earlier today to oversee a whole of government response, coordinating efforts in government departments, local authorities, and emergency services to expedite the restoration of essential services.

ESB Networks expects to reconnect the majority of customers by Friday, January 31, but approximately 100,000 customers may remain without power into the following week as crews tackle the most severe damage.

To speed up efforts, technicians from across Great Britain are already on site, with additional reinforcements arriving from Austria, Finland, the Netherlands and France in the coming days.

In the worst-affected areas, Emergency Response Hubs have been set up across 16 counties, including Cavan, Laois, and Westmeath, to provide essential services such as water, hot food, phone charging, and broadband access. These hubs are vital in supporting residents who have been without power for several days. 

Water supplies have also been severely impacted, with 84,000 customers currently without water and another 100,000 at risk of disruptions as Uisce Eireann crews work around the clock to restore services. 

Tanaiste Simon Harris said that “everything that can be done is being done” to restore supplies.

“I’m very conscious that there is many people in Ireland still without electricity supply and without water, and I want to assure people that everything that can be done is being done to restore people to supply as quickly as possible,” he said at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.

“I really want to express my gratitude to the incredible crews, who are doing so much work right across the country. We’ve gone from around over three-quarters-of-a-million people not having access to electricity to over 200,000 people now.

“But I am conscious as this goes on, the longer it goes on, the more hardship that imposes on people, and that’s why we’re carrying out a number of activities.”