Legislation to safeguard electricity supply must be prioritised – Scahill

A Fine Gael Senator is calling for the fast-tracking of the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Bill 2025, following another weekend of widespread power outages across the west in the aftermath of Storm Amy.

Senator Gareth Scahill said: “This is the third major storm this year – after Storm Éowyn in February and Storm Floris in August – that has left thousands of homes in Roscommon and surrounding areas without electricity.

“The common denominator is clear: unmanaged forestry corridors which continue to pose a serious threat to electricity infrastructure. We can’t afford another winter of uncertainty,” he said.

More than 768,000 electricity customers nationally were affected during Storm Éowyn at the start of the year, and despite Government’s approval for the drafting of the Bill, progress has stalled.

“We were told at the end of July that Government had approved the heads of the Bill to bolster grid resilience. It’s now October. My constituents are asking how long they’ll be without power when the next storm hits. They deserve answers, and action.”

The Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Bill 2025 aims to grant ESB Networks enhanced powers to manage vegetation near power lines, establish statutory forestry corridors, and provide a framework for landowner compensation. It also aims to uphold environmental obligations under EU law and align with the Forestry Act 2014.

Senator Scahill stressed the urgency of the situation: “I spent a morning last week in west Roscommon with families who had no power. I’ve seen the exact corridors where trees are threatening lines. Everyone knows where the problem is. We need a multi-agency approach, and we need this legislation enacted now.”

He also referenced a letter from a local resident detailing repeated outages caused by falling trees in the same stretch of forestry. “This community has been without power for over three and a half weeks this year alone. We cannot wait for another review or another storm. The time for action is now.”

Senator Scahill concluded by calling on the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to publish the Bill without delay.

“Our people deserve a resilient network. They deserve leadership. Let’s get this Bill published, passed, and implemented before the next storm hits,” concluded Senator Scahill.