Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The compensation for the people who have been suffering for two weeks must come from the vast profits of the ESB, not from increased prices for customers, as has been talked about in the media. We need investment to ensure it does not happen again that people, in 2025, are waiting weeks upon weeks to have their power restored.

I raise the situation of schools. In many areas, children, particularly those with additional needs, have been suffering through not being able to attend school due to a lack of electricity and water. Every school should be issued with a generator to ensure this does not happen in future. I refer in particular to special needs students. I was alerted in my constituency to the situation of the Hope schools, to which the Department of Education sent a memo indicating they would not be compensated for the red alert days, meaning they had to tell students to come into school. Is there a difference between the safety needs of students with additional needs and other students? This is the message that was sent to those schools.

It is absolutely vital that the Government answers for what has happened. It must invest to ensure it does not happen again. Events like this storm are going to be a feature of life, notwithstanding the claims of climate deniers who have roles in the Government, particularly in the key Department of agriculture. This will keep happening. They can deny it all they like but the only people suffering will be ordinary people throughout the country, especially the people in rural areas they claim to represent.

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