Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)

Mine is one of the households in west Roscommon that has been without power for nearly four weeks so far this year, with 13 nights for Storm Éowyn. During Storm Éowyn our communications went down as well. That is all right for me, my wife and my two kids under the age of ten. We have a heat pump in the house and the house is insulated like a fridge after about three or four days. However, when it comes to vulnerable users, and the ESB has a vulnerable user register, I, like many of the other public representatives in Roscommon, was going out on a daily basis visiting these people. There was no way whatsoever we could get them preferential treatment or any additional treatment. In a response, I would hope that the ESB would have a specific provision for those people, even if it is a pack, so that, if they are going to be without power for 48 hours, they get something. A lot of these people have ventilators or hospital beds in their homes. They need to be looked after. They are on a vulnerable user register for a reason.

There are multiple other issues. The CCMA mentioned clearing roads. The forestry where the trees came down, taking down power lines and knocking out vast areas, was on local and very minor roads. Clearing the main roads was not the main issue. I commend the ESB staff and the council staff.