Emergency Hubs set up in Cavan, Laois, and Westmeath amid continued power outage
Eva Osborne
Emergency Response Hubs have been set up in Cavan, Laois, and Westmeath as hundreds of thousands of homes still remain without power and water due to Storm Éowyn.
Local Coordination Groups are now in place in 16 counties – Cavan, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow.
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.
📚 The following libraries opened this morning, providing access to charging points, toilets, tea/coffee, along with warmth & comfort:
Ballyjamesduff
Bailieborough
Cootehill
Cavan
Kingscourt
Virginia📚Libraries closed:
Ballyconnell (leak)
Belturbet (no power)
Arva (no power) pic.twitter.com/S2e2xkX0Se— Cavan County Council (@cavancoco) January 27, 2025
Emergency Response Hubs are assisting people with basic needs such as water, hot food, phone charging, broadband access and shower facilities.
ESB Networks continues 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. Some could be waiting to be reconnected for another week.
The National Emergency Co-ordination Group said "unprecedented damage" has been done by Storm Éowyn.
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.
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."
