300,000 properties across Ireland are without electricity following Storm Éowyn, while 100,000 customers are without water.
The big clean-up is ongoing following Friday’s storm which hit the country in the early hours of the morning. One man died after the car he was traveling in was hit by a tree in County Donegal.
20-year-old Kacper Dudek, who was described as a “gentle soul," was traveling on the N14 near Lifford when the incident happened.
Most schools reopened on Monday after closing on the Friday, as people had been advised to work from home as the storm was due to hit land as a Red status warning was issued for the whole island for the first time.
After the weekend, the clean-up is still ongoing after trees were felled, homes damaged and roads were blocked.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has written to the Taoiseach calling for the Dáil to be reconvened to address the crisis.
Minister for Social Protection in the Republic Dara Calleary said lessons will be learned.
“We’re going to reflect on his, reflect on the severity of both this storm and the previous storm, and make changes as necessary,” he said. “But our immediate response, since Friday and right through today and tomorrow will be getting responses up, getting repairs done, humanitarian hubs up.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin thanked the emergency services in the wake of the storm as the task to reconnect homes to the grid continues.
“The destruction caused by some of the strongest winds on record has been unprecedented, and there is still a huge amount of work needed in the days ahead to restore electricity, water and communications to hundreds of thousands of people,” he said.
“I am grateful for the efforts of multiple state agencies to help those most in need, and we understand how difficult it is for homes and businesses across the island.”
