A Galway City Councillor is calling on the Minister for Local Government to release emergency funding to repair street lighting infrastructure damaged by Storm Éowyn.
The local authority is understood to be insured for weather damage to 400 street lights affected by the hurricane force winds in January, but not the underground cabling which connects them.
“The storm ripped poles out of the ground rather than snapping them, and this pulled up the cabling which basically burned out in at least seven neighbourhoods around the city,” said Councillor Shane Forde (FG ).
“I’m told by engineers that fixing the cabling will cost at least €850,000 plus VAT. Insurance won’t cover cabling unless it’s inside buildings, and this bill is probably going to cost more than it normally costs to run the entire public lighting across the city – €1.1m - for a whole year.”
Council engineers are understood to have identified seven residential locations across all three city wards where cabling must be replaced or repaired.
City officials told councillors in February that the repair bill after Storm Éowyn in Galway had so far totalled between €10 million and €15 million. Unverified figures coming from City Hall sources are putting the current bill at close to €20m.
Figures supplied to the Department of Finance last week indicate insurance claims to homes, businesses and vehicles by Storm Éowyn will surpass €240m nationally.
Councillor Forde said he wants Minister for Local Government, James Browne, to expedite funding to Galway for repairs “as there is a danger the city budget won’t be able to carry this bill in 2025.”
