Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)

I wish to raise an issue following Storm Amy last Friday. We were protected up here in Leinster but in other parts of Ireland there were widespread power outages and issues with Irish Water and the water supply. I was dealing with this all across the weekend because hundreds of people and households were affected by power outages. I made phone calls to PowerCheck and the ESB yesterday with regard to reporting issues with power outages and the notifications that people get. For those who are not familiar, a person needs to put in their 11-digit MPRN to receive an alert when there is a power outage in their area. They then put in their phone number and they receive notifications of the status of the power outage and when it is expected to be resolved. Since Storm Éowyn and numerous other power outages in recent months, I have been on that system 20, 24, or 25 times. I have to put in my MPRN and my mobile phone number every time in order to get the information. It strikes me, looking at this from the digital divide and age-friendly side of things, that a large percentage of people over a certain age would have trouble typing in an 11-digit number and a mobile phone number into an app to get answers. The ESB says there is a GDPR issue here. I suggest that when someone has done it once, they should be on list whereby they are notified of the status if their neighbour sends in an alert about a power outage. That would provide certainty. I would welcome a debate that looks at this and multiple other systems to make them more age-friendly so that people of a certain age would have reassurance in the systems that are in place to support them with information during times of power outages, storms and various warnings.