With thousands of households left without water and power across the country, questions have been raised over the efficiency of Ireland’s emergency supply system.

Some ESB customers have been warned that their power may not be restored until the first week of February.

Head of water operations for Uisce Éireann Margaret Attridge told The Pat Kenny Show that the supply of water is dependent on the electrical grid.

“We have generators at our larger treatment plants, so you would have noticed that there was no supply interruptions to our larger cities and towns throughout the country,” she said.

“But we have 8,000 assets, water treatment plants, reservoirs, pumping stations, where we have a power connection going from the electricity network into our infrastructure.

“So, it’s very difficult to have generators at all those locations.

“The way that we operate is that in areas that are most at risk – the West Coast and the North peninsula - Mayo, Donegal - we’d have stockpiles of generators and then we mobilise them out where they’d be needed in advance of a storm.”

25/01/2025 ESB Networks crews and partner contractors pictured on site near Dunmanway in West Cork during restoration works in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn.
Picture: Michael O'Sullivan /OSM

Ms Attridge said that since the ESB has restored a lot of power in the South of the country, generators will now be sent to areas that are still affected.

“Of those 126,000 [people deemed at risk of losing water] they’re in an at risk category because we don’t have any power going to the treatment plant,” she said.

“But we still have water in storage, they are being supplied from storage.

“So, that’s why we’ll be focusing on getting generators out to those locations or working with ESB to get power restored over the coming days and to get water back as quickly as possible.”

'Lesson learned'

According to Ms Attridge, there is an argument for reinforcing the network of treatment plants nationwide, especially as more frequent storms are expected due to climate change.

“That’s definitely something we will have to look at, revisit that post storm,” she said.

“Not all our assets have the capability of plugging in generators, so there has been some delay in some locations in getting electricians out to rural locations to change wiring – and safety has to be our priority.

“While we have a plentiful supply generator, it’s just taking time to get the infrastructure ready so we can actually connect them up, and do so in a safe manner.

“We’ve actually one case this morning where, out in the Aran Islands, thankfully power is back this morning to most of the Aran Islands except Inishmaan.

“So, the Irish Coast Guard is providing us support this morning to fly a generator out there – but again, a lesson learned, we probably should have one permanently out there.”

For those who have been without water for “a long time”, Ms Attridge said alternative water supplies will be set up in about 50 locations across the country.

Details of this are available at www.water.ie.

Main image: Workers clearing a fallen tree on Grove Park Drive in Dublin as ESB networks continue to reconnect homes and businesses across the country after Storm Eowyn wreaked havoc throughout the country. Picture date: Sunday January 26, 2025. Image: PA Images / Alamy