'If another storm hits, Mayo communities will be in the dark again' — questions raised over Ireland's power grid

Aontú TD for Mayo, Paul Lawless, has issued a stark warning over the Government’s slow response to strengthening Ireland’s electricity infrastructure in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn. 

Speaking in the Dáil this week, Deputy Lawless criticised what he described as a "lack of urgency and delivery" in bolstering the national power grid, six months after one of Ireland’s most severe weather events in recent history.

READ MORE: ‘The big failure was the utilities’ - Mayo County Council report on Storm Éowyn

Storm Éowyn, which battered the country in January, left hundreds of thousands without power, many of them for extended periods. In Mayo, communities such as Hollymount, Taugheen, and Foxford only recently regained full connectivity.

“Storm Éowyn exposed the deep vulnerabilities in our power grid,” Lawless told fellow TDs. “The people of Mayo know too well the consequences of this fragility. Just last week, a minor summer breeze knocked out electricity in several areas. It’s clear that the system remains far too exposed.”

Deputy Lawless directly challenged Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, over the status of post-storm resilience measures, highlighting what he described as a concerning gap between government rhetoric and on-the-ground reality.

“The Government is great at writing plans and reports, but very poor on delivery,” Lawless said. “We’re six months out from the storm, and we’re still stuck in survey mode. People don’t want another winter resilience memo, they want to know how many kilometres of lines have been cleared and protected.”

READ MORE: Mayo residents still without phone lines over 100 days after Storm Éowyn

Central to Lawless’s criticism was the implementation, or lack thereof, of long-established ESB (Electricity Supply Board) guidelines designed to maintain safety clearances between vegetation and power lines.

“There are thousands of kilometres of lines with trees growing straight through them,” he claimed. “I’ve spoken to the ESB, and it seems these guidelines aren’t binding. We need to know exactly what progress has been made. The best time to do this work is now, during the summer months when ground conditions allow for access and clearance.”

Despite Government assurances that recovery and prevention efforts are underway, Lawless said constituents continue to report delays and a lack of visible action.