A GALWAY woman has been left without power for almost eight days as she pleads to the Government to “we’re at breaking point”.
Mum-of-two Niamh Considine has been living in a freezing home for the eight days following Storm Eowyn.
The power went in her home in Tuam at around 2am on January 24, and despite updates from the ESB claiming it will return, she and her family remain in the dark.
Conditions at her home have gotten so bad that her two sons, aged 12 and 14, have been sleeping with layers of clothes to stay warm.
However, this hasn’t stopped one son from catching the flu leaving him off school.
Niamh told The Irish Sun: “We’re just kind of feeling a bit lost down here, we’re heading into day eight without power and it’s just been so difficult for my family and others in the area.
“We’re struggling to stay warm. My son is actually home sick now today from the cold in our house, he’s got the flu. My younger son said the other night to me, ‘Mum I can actually see my breath’.
“I definitely think that if it was Dublin it would be sorted, there’d be help, there’d be support. Our government is still on holidays, it’s a national emergency here in the West.”
NOWHERE TO GO
Niamh has been force to spend money on everyday essentials, like eating out each day due to no power to cook and other purchases in order to heat her home.
She went as far as searching for a hotel room to stay at but had no luck in finding something available or affordable.
She said: “I’ve heard that there’s some sort of humanitarian subsidy thing or something like that, we spent so much money on materials to keep warm, we’ve been eating outside the house for over a week.
“The prices are just gone through the roof, we just can’t afford it after everything we’ve forked out this week.
“We’re at breaking point now, families in the West, they need urgent support, whether it’s financial aid, access to emergency accommodation, practical help to make our homes liveable again.”
NO RETURN
Initially, Niamh’s power was due to return on Tuesday at 4pm, but this was pushed back to Saturday at 9pm.
She remains unsure if this is an accurate estimation.
Niamh said: “Everyone is so down, you’re not sleeping. I’m awake through the night, every night. I felt yesterday that my body was literally shutting down.
“We just don’t feel like there’s enough being done. The government’s response has been just none. We all went out and voted them in when they needed us, but now that we’re in need, like we really need them. It feels like we’re being ignored.
“I’ve written to every politician this morning. I’m just, I’m at breaking point this morning. There’s very little support from our local representatives.
“We need someone to speak up for us. And right now it feels like nobody is listening.”
CALLS FOR HELP
Niamh is calling for more manpower to be brought in to help the ESB restore power in these vital areas, and is calling for the Defence Forces to step in.
The community in Niamh’s area have been helping as best they can, with her children’s school, Ballinderry National School, providing charging facilities and areas to heat water bottles.
She added: “We’re very, very lucky with our school.
“I’d love one of the higher ranks in our government to try and experience this. We urgently need help. We need someone to be our voice and we need action before the weekend arrives.
“It’s a humanitarian issue and it’s critical that something changes. It’s clear that the current response is not enough. Families here are just struggling to stay warm and like children are getting sick.”
ESB ACTION
According to National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG), some 74,000 homes, farms, schools and businesses remain without an energy supply.
They have confirmed that ESB Networks continues to “mobilise all available resources to restore power connections as soon as possible.”
Large-capacity generators are being provided by Poland and Denmark, which began arriving in Ireland yesterday.
Chair of the NECG Keith Leonard said: “It’s been an incredibly challenging week – both for those suffering prolonged disruption in the storm’s aftermath, and for the thousands of staff and volunteers involved in the intensive restoration and relief efforts.
“Nearly 700,000 people have now had their power restored, and the vast majority of people affected by water outages have had their supply restored. This has required an unprecedented level of work and commitment from our infrastructure crews – work that will continue over the bank holiday weekend and beyond until everyone affected is reconnected.
“The NECG is continuing to co-ordinate cross-government support for these ongoing efforts, and local co-ordination groups remain in place across affected areas, helping us to prioritise the welfare of vulnerable or isolated people.”
They added that while restoration work is continuing, those in areas with larger faults are advised to keep checking Power Check over estimated return times.
They said that customers who remain without power will “progressively have their supply restored over the course of next week.”
