THE Taoiseach has been heavily criticised over the Government’s response to Storm Eowyn — as European repair crews arrived in Ireland amid the battle to restore power.
ESB bosses last night revealed 154,000 people still remain without electricity, while Uisce Eireann confirmed 11,500 premises are still without water.
Amid growing anger over the blackouts, Micheal Martin was dramatically confronted today by a woman who has been without power and water for days.
Weary householder Rachel Connolly let rip at Martin as he visited a community hub in Castlerea, Co Roscommon.
During the showdown, Ms Connolly told the Taoiseach she was “very, very frustrated”, explaining how she had lost the entire contents of her fridge and freezer three times in the last year due to power outages.
Under-fire Martin told her a scheme is available to replenish the cost of the food through the Community Welfare Office.
But fed-up Ms Connolly insisted the public have not been told how to access the scheme and highlighted how many homes currently have no access to the internet.
Furious Rachel, who has been left reeling by four power outages in the last 12 months, revealed her electricity is not due to return until February 5 after Storm Eowyn.
And she accused the Taoiseach of failing to plan properly for it and abandoning communities to fend for themselves.
Ms Connolly declared: “Why didn’t you have something in place before? You knew this was coming — I’ve no power until February 5.
“I’ve had no contact from any member of any authority of any part of the Government. I’m very, very frustrated.
“No hand-washing facilities in a house for seven days isn’t acceptable. You need to listen to us.”
But defiant Martin strongly defended the Government’s response — despite thousands of households entering their sixth day without power or water.
Officials announced the EU is to send 17 power generators to help alleviate electricity outages, while repair crews arrived from EU countries including Austria and Finland to assist the ESB in restoring power.
Further technicians from the UK, Netherlands and France are expected to arrive in the coming days.
But thousands of power outage-hit families have been forced to travel to community response hubs across the country to warm up and use washing facilities.
Fianna Fail leader Martin today denied claims the Government delayed asking the EU for help after the countrywide destruction caused by Storm Eowyn.
Among those criticising the Government over its request for assistance was Midlands North-West MEP Ciaran Mullooly.
Mullooly said that Ireland was first offered help by the European Commissioner for crisis management last Wednesday — before the storm hit the country — and that the Government did not respond until days later.
But speaking to reporters in Co Roscommon, Martin hit back at the claims and also shot down calls for the Dail to be recalled amid the ongoing crisis.
He said: “I think this is completely overplayed, if I’m honest, in terms of the enormity and scale of the response to the storm.
“I actually think the work of the agencies should be now dealing with and responding to the needs of the people. The Dail debate in itself will not in any way help to restore power or, indeed, electricity.
“For a lot of the people involved, they are very frustrated at some of what’s been said, because they’ve worked night and day.
“They met well in advance of the storm, their first priority was to save life and limb and that means when the storm is raging, you can’t come out.
“The emergency crews can’t come out to assess the damage, and it’s only when the storm is over and the green light is given that people can go out and actually assess it.
“It took about 24 hours for an assessment. My understanding is then, after that assessment, a request is made, but we’ll check the details of that.”
The Irish Sun understands a new scheme to help households pay for the damage caused by Storm Eowyn will be brought before the Cabinet today.
The Extreme Weather Event Assistance Scheme will help homes, community organisations, farmers and businesses impacted by the storm.
There is already a humanitarian assistance fund in place to help people with the immediate impact of storms, but the new scheme will be more targeted, according to Government sources.
Martin has asked several ministers to bring updates on the storm response from their departments, including Housing, Social Protection and Enterprise.
And the Taoiseach has hailed the response of those fighting to get Ireland back on track, as he warned the country would face further savage storms in the future.
He added: “I want to pay tribute to the community spirit that has been very much evident, not just here, but across the country.”
Meanwhile, Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary, insisted that people impacted by Storm Eowyn should not be hungry or cold.
He said: “Funds are available through the Department of Social Protection. They’re doing fantastic work. We had 1,000 queries yesterday for assistance.
“People should not be hungry or cold.”
Storm victims include Galway widow Maureen Folan who has seen her life “turned upside down” after her family home was destroyed by hurricane-force Eowyn.
A GoFundMe has been launched by friends after Maureen’s roof was blown off by the strong winds, leaving her home completely uninhabitable.
