180,000 without power as crews from UK, Austria and Finland work on repairs

The vast majority of people impacted by Storm Éowyn will have their power restored by Friday, according to the ESB.

A total of 180,000 premises remain without electricity since the record-breaking winds last Friday.

Crews from the UK, Austria and Finland have arrived here to assist with the restoration of power and are being briefed on the worst-affected areas.

ESB spokesperson Brian Tapley said they will be working around the clock.

“We’ve 180,000 customers still without power this morning, that’s down from a peak of 768,000.”

Mr Tapley added: “The worst impacted areas are the North East, Cavan and Monaghan, some of the North Midlands counties and over in the North West, Mayo, Galway, Sligo and Leitrim.”

Minister for Housing James Browne has defended the Government’s response to Storm Éowyn describing it as “a storm without precedence” which had “double the impact” in terms of the numbers left without power.

“It’s a very challenging situation for a lot of families…