Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that he “fully understands the anger and frustration” of people who have gone without power for several days following Storm Éowyn.
Speaking in Cork, Mr Martin said that anyone without power for such an extended period of time would be “very anxious and very worried."
"We are very, very dependent on technology and electricity in the modern world. We are doing everything we possible can. We have (repair) crews here now from five or six different countries."
"The ESB has similar sister companies in other countries - we help them when they are in need and now they are helping us when we are in need."
"This has been a very severe storm. We have never encountered this, certainly in my lifetime."
"Wind gusts of 183kmh...they are way beyond what would be normal red warning thresholds."
"The west and northwest took a terrible hit from StormÉowyn. In a way, nationally, the country was very fortunate in that it did not come straight through the country. It veered northwest and the severity (of the damage) is the reason for the prolonged outage and the impact on the grid."
Mr Martin paid tribute to the first responders and to the ESB crews “who have been working around the clock to restore power to people as quickly as possible."
"We are down to around 76,000 people without power but that is really a very severe hardship on those people who are without electricity. They (repair crews) are going everything they possibly can."
"Obviously, as you go more rural (for line repairs) it gets more challenging. The numbers you can bring back (to the grid) with every repair is smaller."
"We had an important meeting yesterday to evaluate the impact of the storm but also for issues that we have to address into the future."
"I have already asked for work to be done to accelerate investment in the grid - to future-proof it and make it more resilient."
He said that there will be a need for substantial investment in our electricity grid into the future.
"If you look at the table over the past ten years or so, the number and severity of storms of this kind is growing."
"Climate change is now having an impact to a significant degree on our country and we have to step change our resilience in terms of that - we will have similar storms to this in the years to come."
"The numbers are quite stark if you contrast it to ten years ago in terms of the number of storms and the severity of storms in 2023, 2024 and now 2025."
"Likewise, Irish Water (Uisce Éireann) in terms of back-up generators, that needs to be better into the future and, also, we need to look at clearer corridors in terms of forestry and trees (with electricity lines)."
"We need to prioritise (power) transmission corridors and to ensure that the grid is absolutely protected into the future."
Mr Martin said in the short term he has asked the Minster for Social Protection and the Department of Social Welfare to have sustained and proactive engagement with people in impacted communities in relation to storm aid.
"Particularly in terms of vulnerable people and, where possible, to organise their accommodation in hotels and so forth."
"They have been without power for a long time now - and (repairs) may not take place until the next couple of days."
"The (State) humanitarian response must take that into account."
"The world is changing at pace from a climate perspective. The storms are more severe. They are more frequent and they are impacting on our everyday lives."
"We have to adjust and adapt. In the next National Development Plan there will be significant funding for the size of that adaptation. We are doing the flood schemes but an awful lot more needs to be provided to deal with the impact of climate change."
