What we have seen in north County Galway in the year since Storm Éowyn has been nothing short of disaster. There have been over 20 power outages in the past year in Dunmore in north County Galway. It is not just Dunmore but surrounding areas like Ballygar, Glenamaddy, Kilkerrin and Clonberne are all affected by regular outages. Outages are one thing but extended outages are another. I thank the ESB for its engagement on the issue. I had a meeting with ESB representatives on this specific matter earlier and it was a positive and constructive engagement. I got to the bottom of the reasons for a lot of these outages. There were swan strikes, issues with the line and issues with automation on the line, which led to power outages in larger areas, probably unnecessarily. This comes back to our readiness for weather events. Are we storm-ready along the north Galway lines? Investment is the other issue. Has this line been invested in in the past few years and, if so, what level of investment has gone into it? I received correspondence from the GP practice in Dunmore. For it to be without power for an extended period has a significant negative impact on patients. How can families, mothers with newborn children, the butcher shop and other shops - everywhere in the community - function as a society in the 21st century if they cannot have consistent power? The real issue is reliability and consistency. While the rest of the county drives on and has power, this area is often without power. Many constituents in north Galway have made contact with me. People can deal with a handful of power outages but when it is a recurring issue, it really frustrates people. I would be grateful for any insights the Minister can share as to how this situation will be resolved and what is causing it.

Sentiment score: 0.09

At my meeting with ESB Networks today, it became very clear that the company has both immediate and medium-term plans. It is important to highlight that vegetation and trees are one of the biggest causes of recurring outages in north Galway, where is a significant amount of forestry. When people planted those trees 30 years ago, there was no legislation suggesting they had to be 30 m distant from either side of the wire. We have to be honest about that. One issue the ESB faces, which it raised with me and was quite surprised about, is that a lot of forestry is owned by pension funds and investments funds, which are, ultimately, faceless organisations. It can be difficult for the ESB to make contact with them to gain access to the lands to maintain the tree line. I know legislation is being worked on but the ESB needs to have the power to go in and maintain the lines. It is the State's infrastructure and the ESB's infrastructure. The ESB has to have the right go in and maintain it. That is vital. In terms of immediate plans to protect areas like Dunmore, Glenamaddy and Mountbellew, I have heard stories of people who were two, three or four days without power. Every time that happens to a low-income family, they cannot afford to put food on the table because they are a few days without power. They have to go out for three of four meals a day and they have three kids. That is a really tough situation. When we get this right and when price review 6 investment comes through into areas like this, the people we will be helping are elderly people and people on lower incomes by giving them energy security. I welcome the grant announcements earlier this week and the work the Minister is doing because it is important in terms of giving people control of their own energy in their homes.

Sentiment score: 0.26