The Defence Forces are being asked to intervene as two of the Aran Islands look set to be without power until at least next week.
The lights went off at around 4.30 this morning – and it’s believed that undersea cables could be to blame.
The ESB says due to the complexity of repairing such cables, it’s likely that Inis Meain and Inis Oirr will be without power for a number of days.
However, the utility will not be able to provide an alternative power source for the islands until next week – leaving a question mark over how residents will cope over the coming days.
Gaeltacht Minister Sean Kyne has issued a statement in the last few minutes – he says the ESB is hoping to have an emergency generator in place over the weekend.
A specialist generator is being drafted in from the UK, but it’s feared that poor weather forecast for Sunday may push out delivery until Monday.
Minister Kyne says that everything is being done to ensure that the situation is resolved as quickly as possible.
Sinn Fein Senator Trevor O’ Clochartaigh says concern is mounting on Inis Meain and Inis Oirr as alternative power sources are proving difficult to acquire locally.
Senator O’ Clochartaigh says that a lengthy power outage will be devastating for island residents and he’s asking the Defence Forces to intervene to ensure that the island’s basic needs are met over the coming days.
Meanwhile, Irish Water is urging the people of Inis Oirr and Inis Meáin to conserve water this weekend to help prevent a water outage.
The major power outage has led to the shutdown of the water treatment plant on Inis Meáin.
While there is sufficient storage in the reservoir for a couple of days, there will be night time restrictions imposed on Inis Meáin to conserve the available water.
Irish Water has a generator installed at the Inis Oirr water treatment plant and the utility is making provisions to have a generator transported to the Inis Meáin water treatment plant.
This may lead to disruptions while the generator is being commissioned.
Irish Water and Galway County Council say they are working hard to ensure there’s as little disruption as possible to tourism, business and normal daily life.
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