A 70-year-old woman and her son who is paralysed from the shoulders down have been left without power since last Friday morning.
When Lesley Wiggins spoke to The Clare Champion on Wednesday afternoon she still didn’t know when power would be returned to her home at Laccaroe Lower in Feakle.
She said that while her son Francis Kelly has been identified as a priority customer, the ESB has said it won’t prioritise him at this time.
“We still have no electricity. They have fixed the neighbours power and the people at the end of our lane, but we are the only ones here that haven’t got it yet.
“We are meant to be priority customers because my son is paralysed from the shoulders down and totally dependent on electricity for moving his bed, his hoist, keeping his bed inflated, etc, etc.
“We also need it for heating and we have no water either because that’s dependent on electricity. We’re in dire straits,” said Lesley.
“We are just really stressed and depressed and wondering when we will get the electricity. It’s an emergency in a way,” she added.
Francis depends on having power far more than many other people, she stresses.
“He’s paralysed from the shoulders down, totally dependent on electricity, yet they’ve chosen to fix all the neighbours and not ours, we’re very upset.
“We’ve no electricity, no water, no heating, I’m having to use an old gas fire in his bedroom, but I have to turn it off every so often because of fumes.
“I’m 70 years old and I have to get up to turn Francis from side to side all night, because there’s no electricity.”
Being a priority customer has been no advantage when it was really needed, she claimed.
“Although Francis is on a priority list because they know he needs electricity, we are told they are not prioritising. It’s a bit daft, he’s on a priority list, but he is not a priority, the one time he needs to be a priority.”
Since the storm she has endured a terrible time, and she says that not knowing when the power will return is another source of stress.
“We’re not really angry. Just really stressed, upset and exhausted. The worst thing is not knowing how many days you have to go on living a half life like this, collecting water, being in the dark. It’s terrible to see Francis in such a state.”
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.