Man died when medical equipment cut out after Storm Eowyn, Dail told

Independent

05-02-2025

A man died after medical technology including sleep apnoea equipment stopped working as a result of Storm Eowyn, the Irish parliament has been told.
Sinn Fein TD for Mayo Rose Conway-Walsh said she was informed of the death by a constituent.
In a separate incident, Kacper Dudek, 20, was killed when a tree fell on his car in Co Donegal during the morning of the storm.
Ms Conway-Walsh told the Dail on Wednesday: 'I was on Midwest Radio this morning and I said I have been frightened all week that something was going to happen, that somebody was going to die as a result of this in Mayo.
'I do want to extend my condolences to the man's family in Donegal that lost his life, but very shortly after (the radio appearance), somebody from our own constituency rang me to describe to me how the equipment that his father was using couldn't be used – the mattress, the sleep apnoea, the several other pieces of equipment – they couldn't be (used).
'When he went then to take his father to the doctor, he died in front of him.
'And that is the tragedy of it, and that is how urgent this is.'
The impact of the storm was one of the major focuses on the Dail's first meeting since nominating a Taoiseach.
Several members of the opposition had said not enough time had been set aside during Wednesday's order of business to discuss the impact of Eowyn, adding that the Dail should not have been in recess the week after the storm.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik told the Dail that she had heard families had been forced to hold the traditional wake for dead relatives 'by candlelight', and parents had been unable to cook a hot meal for their 'bored and cold young children'.
She said older people were 'left terrified and isolated by power outages and fallen trees' and that people with chronic health conditions had appointments cancelled or could not access them.
Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore said the Irish Government was 'missing in action' during the clean-up after the unprecedented weather event which prompted a nationwide red-level warning.
She said the Government can no longer 'wash its hands' of its response, adding that the Dail should have sat last week to discuss the thousands of people left without power, water and broadband.
On Tuesday, 25,000 people remained without power and fewer than 300 were without water after Storm Eowyn damaged homes and infrastructure.
Ms Whitmore said: 'We should have been sitting last week, the Dail should have been sitting last week, the country was in crisis. The fact that the Government was missing in action was completely unacceptable and I think the Government really needs to answer questions about that.'
Earlier this week, Electricity Supply Board chief executive estimated that the cost of repairs from the storm would be tens of millions of euro.
Asked on RTE radio if prices would go up after the storm, Paddy Hayes said the cost was likely to be 'ultimately borne across the electricity network as a whole'.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said 'people already pay too much' and there must be Government intervention, given that the ESB was 'enormously profitable' and received 'funding from the taxpayer by way of the public service obligation levy'.
Earlier, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said that Ireland needs 'a fundamental rethink in terms of storm resilience'.
He said: 'What the evidence is showing is that storms are far more severe, and they're becoming more severe, and also the frequency of such severe storms is now without question, and therefore we have to do a fundamental re-evaluation of the grid, for example, in terms of its resilience; also in terms of back-up for the water system, in terms of at a minimum, back-up generators; also then investing in local networks.'
Tanaiste Simon Harris said there needs to be a 'bigger, deeper dive' into how Ireland responded.
He said 'an awful lot more' needs to be done to prepare for severe weather events in Ireland, and mentioned generator supplies in particular.
During Dail time dedicated to the storm, Claire Kerrane, Sinn Fein TD for Roscommon-Galway, said the ministers were '12 days too late' to discuss the storm, adding: 'Shame on this Government.'
She said: 'I heard very much the Taoiseach's response. It was to come down to Co Roscommon to get his photograph taken and then to tell us on this side of the house that we were playing politics.'
Sinn Fein TD for Sligo-Leitrim Martin Kenny said his power is not due to be returned until Sunday, adding that he has borrowed a generator from someone else.
'Before we got the generator, it was hot water bottles and the Superser (gas heater) – the novelty wears off very quickly.'
Housing and Local Government Minister James Browne acknowledged the 'extreme hardship' faced by those without power, adding that the ESB is 'working tirelessly' to restore electricity.
Minister for Climate and Energy Darragh O'Brien said an enhanced Winter 2025 resilience plan is to be developed within a month, to be implemented by the ESB between March and October.
The minister said a review will see if any investment projects can be accelerated.
Social Protection and Rural Minister Dara Calleary said Storm Eowyn is 'now the precedent', adding that there is a need to prepare accordingly.
Enterprise Minister Peter Burke said an 'extreme weather assistance scheme' is being progressed as 'a matter of urgency'.