ESB denies network is not fit for purpose – ‘wind took down timber and timber took down networks'
Sligo councillors request an ESB contact line so they can report problems raised by constituents
Members of the ESB refuted any suggestions that the network is not fit for purpose at a meeting between Sligo County Council members and semi-state organisations and utility providers on Monday morning.
The ESB and Coillte were present at the meeting to discuss the impact of storm Éowyn and what lessons can be learned, while eir and Uisce Éireann were unavailable to attend.
Related topics
Jessica Farry
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
ESB board had ‘significant concern' that €318,000 salary was not sufficient for chief executive post
The board of the ESB had 'significant concern' that the salary for company's chief executive was insufficient for retaining an appropriately-skilled person for the role, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications told a Government pay review group. In an appendix to a submission sent by the then Minister Eamon Ryan last summer, officials said at that point the post of ESB chief executive had a salary of €318,000. The department said it was 'considered imperative that the company is led by a suitably qualified, experienced and dynamic leader and the post should be competitively remunerated accordingly to attract same'. The department in its appendix to Mr Ryan's letter to the Senior Posts Remuneration Committee said 'due to the size and scope of ESB's remit, the level of remuneration has been previously cited as an area of significant concern for the board of the ESB in retaining an appropriately-skilled CEO'. READ MORE 'The chair of ESB has also noted the current salary as insufficient to attract the calibre of candidate sought for the role in comparison to alternative employment options available to them.' The department said the ESB was 'one of the country's most valuable assets' as the largest semi-State company. 'Therefore it is critically important for the business to attract, retain and motivate the right calibre of people across all levels of the organisation to deliver on their strategic goals and to meet shareholders' expectations in terms of decarbonisation, energy security, critical infrastructure provision and economic growth.' It said the ESB chief executive at that point had a salary of €318,000. It said the code of practice for governance of remuneration in State bodies urged that pay at the top level should be set in a manner that allowed 'sufficient headroom between the CEO and senior management'. The department told the review group that 'this must be considered in the context of the ESB'. [ Gas Networks Ireland, Uisce Éireann, LDA told Minister chief executive pay limits posed 'serious risks' to organisations Opens in new window ] It said as of December 2023, the ESB had a regulated asset base of about €13.2 billion, comprising ESB Networks €10.6 billion, NIE Networks €2.6 billion, a 27 per cent share of generation in the all-island market and more than two million customer accounts throughout the island of Ireland and in Great Britain. It said the ESB had provided more than €1.5 billion in dividends to the State over the previous decade. Last month following the report of the remuneration committee, the Government signalled it would update rules to allow a 'market rate' to be paid to chief executives in commercial State companies. Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said the Government would implement most recommendations made by the committee. He said the Government accepted the need to update a system for top-level pay determination in commercial State organisations that had been in place for more than a decade and would move to generally implement the recommendations. He said the upper limit on any proposed package would be the market rate rather than 120 per cent of it. However, there would be no backdating of any increases to May 1st of last year, another committee recommendation, and no reintroduction of performance-related bonuses worth up to 25 per cent of salaries, which was also proposed.
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Irish Independent
20pc increase in power cuts in Wicklow with defective equipment and bird strikes causing some of the outages
Figures provided to MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú show significant year on year increases in power cuts across Ireland between 2021 and 2024, with ESB's Arklow region power supply showing 1,725 power cuts in the wider Wicklow area in 2024, up from 1,433 in 2023 and 1,256 in 2021. There were 64,754 power cuts across Ireland in 2024, both planned and unplanned outages, representing a 22pc increase on 2023, where we had 53,067 power cuts. Between 2021 and 2024, we have seen a 40pc increase in the number of power cuts, both planned and unplanned, across Ireland. ESB Networks also provided MEP Ní Mhurchú with a breakdown of the reasons for the power cuts which included bird strikes, weather issues, lightening, overhead refurbishment, overloading, and corrosion. Of more concern was the large increase in power cuts which were attributed to 'defective equipment'. Raising significant concerns about ESB Networks performance in relation to power cuts faced by domestic and business customers across Ireland, MEP Ní Mhurchú has called on ESB Networks to clarify why there is a 22pc jump, for a new system of compensation for householders and small businesses for outages lasting more than 12 hours and said that customers should not be charged for standing charges and levies when the power it out. 'The CRU, our regulator, has raised significant concerns about ESBN's performance in relation to unplanned outages and customer interruptions fining the utility millions for missing clearly set down targets,' Ní Mhurchú said. 'The ESB is a profitable company that should be prioritising increased investment in our electricity grid. 'My worry is that ESB Networks may be trying to cut costs by not investing in our electricity infrastructure to the extent that they should be. Power cuts have an enormous impact on families, in particular as many homes are now passive homes that depend on heat pumps and don't have open fires or stoves. 'Customers deserve an explanation as to why they are facing more power cuts when they are paying the second highest electricity prices in Europe. The least Irish customers deserve is more investment in the infrastructure that delivers that electricity'
Agriland
5 days ago
- Agriland
Heydon: ‘Hopeful signs' on forestry planting this year
There are 'hopeful signs' on forestry planting this year which is up 'nearly 150% on the same period last year' according to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon. In response to a question tabled by the Sinn Féin spokesperson on agriculture, Martin Kenny, the minister added: 'There is more to come, with another 1,600 hectares already committed to or commenced planting, and a further 4,490 hectares licenced but not yet planted'. According to Minister Heydon the Forestry Programme 2023-2027 'represents the largest ever investment by an Irish Government in tree-planting' and was put in place to incentivise farmers to see tree-planting as an additional income stream or diversification option. Deputy Kenny had tabled a question in the Dáil requesting the minister to outline the number of 'recipients currently receiving afforestation premiums under afforestation schemes from 2005 to date'. Forestry Minister Heydon said that around 9,788 individual forest owners are due premia payments in 2025, for 87,893ha planted under afforestation schemes since 2005. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) also provided details to Deputy Kenny in relation to the number of hectares of forestry planted and the breakdown of the number of hectares of forestry, per forest types 1 to 12, under the current afforestation scheme. Forest types/hectares of forestry planted Source: DAFM Forestry licences Separately the Sinn Féin TD for Cavan-Monaghan, Matt Carthy, also asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to specify the number number of forestry licences issued in each quarter one from 2019 to 2025. Number of forestry licences issued in Q1 over the last 7 years Source: DAFM According to Minister Heydon forestry licences should be processed within six months for screened-out applications (those not subject to appropriate assessment) and within nine months for screened-in applications (those subject to appropriate assessment). He also told Deputy Carthy: 'My department will publish a Forestry Licensing Plan for 2025 in the coming weeks, taking account of developments on foot of the fallout from storms Darragh and Éowyn. 'Now that the satellite assessment of the extent of the damage is complete, my department can assess the information and plan in more detail accordingly. 'The plan will cover afforestation, roads, private and Coillte felling licences'.
