Clare County Council has issued the following statement with regards to the reopening of John O’Sullivan Park, Lees Road, Ennis.
“Lees Road will partially reopen to the public tomorrow Sunday, January 26, 2025.
The road into Lees Road and its main facilities have been returned to safety standards following damage caused by #StormÉowyn. However zones within the wooded walkway and trails remain cordoned off for safety.
“Do not entre the cordon off areas and please continue to exercise extreme caution when walking or running in the wooded areas.
“Clare County Council Engineering Crews and Clare County Fire and Rescue Services continue the clean up across the county following Storm Éowyn.”
Meanwhile, as of 5pm (25th January), approximately 402,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without power, ESB Networks teams have restored power to 366,000 customers since Friday afternoon.
Power restoration by all ESB Networks crews and partner contractors will continue late into the evening and will commence once again at first light tomorrow morning, and we expect to make good progress restoring supplies over the weekend and into next week, wind conditions permitting.
The restoration time required for the storm response remains dynamic given the widespread and extensive damage to the network. Having restored power to over 366,000 customers, we expect to restore power to a further 300,000 by Friday night, 31st January. For the remaining customers, these will progressively have power restored over the course of the following week. This will remain dynamic and weather conditions may impact on the restoration work.
Estimated restoration times (ERTs) are being updated this evening and tomorrow and will be available to view on ww.PowerCheck.ie and updated as our work progresses. We advise customers to sign up for our “Keep me Notified” service for power outages on www.PowerCheck.ie to receive status updates directly.
The National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) met today (Saturday) as the nationwide clean-up continues following Storm Éowyn. The Chair of the NECG had briefed the Taoiseach Micheál Martin earlier this morning and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne, was in attendance at the NECG meeting.
The NECG is continuing its work to coordinate and support efforts to restore power, water, telecommunications and other services to homes, farms and businesses.
With unprecedented power outages due to Storm Éowyn, ESB Networks is mobilising all available resources to restore connections as soon as possible. Already 308,000 power connections have been restored, and intensive work will continue over the weekend.
It is expected that full restoration will take more than a week in the worst impacted areas. Estimated restoration times (ERTs) will be provided as network faults are assessed and these will be available to view at www.PowerCheck.ie.
Local authorities across the country have made significant progress removing debris and clearing roads, but the public are reminded to be vigilant as fallen trees or other debris may remain in some areas. Any obstructions should be reported to the local authority or Gardaí, or to the ESB in the case of fallen or damaged wires.
The public are reminded that storm clean-up should be left to the emergency services and professional operators who have the necessary competence, training and equipment to undertake the work safely.
Keith Leonard, Chair of the NECG said:
“Although the recovery stage is now well underway, the damage caused by Storm Éowyn will still present hazards on our roads, so I’m asking drivers to continue taking extra care this weekend. In particular, please heed the advice from the ESB – never approach fallen power lines and report such cases to ESB Emergency Services. Major clean-up and road clearance operations should also be left to the emergency services and professional operators who are trained to do such work safely.
“The NECG continues to focus on co-ordinating efforts to restore power, water, telecommunications and other services to the many homes, farms and businesses affected by this storm. A whole of Government effort is underway to ensure we get the right resources to the right places and get the country back to normal as soon as possible, with the Defence Forces and many state agencies, including the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Coillte, providing manpower, resources and assistance to clear obstructions and to help ESB Networks to restore connection to those still without power. There will continue to be significant impacts to services across all sectors in the coming days due the severity of the impact to the power distribution network, but every effort is being made to restore power and services as fast as humanly possible.”
The NECG Infrastructure Sub-Group will meet this afternoon with a focus on coordinating the ongoing efforts to restore power and other services.
The full NECG will meet again tomorrow, and work will continue throughout the day to coordinate the response and recovery.
Andrew Hamilton is a journalist, investigative reporter and podcaster who has been working in the media in Ireland for the past 20 years. His areas of special interest include the environment, mental health and politics.