'Ways to go' in Storm Éowyn clean up, NI Secretary says

There is inactive a "way to go" successful the clean-up of Storm Éowyn, the Northern Ireland Secretary has said.

Homes person been damaged and astir 60,000 properties successful Northern Ireland stay without powerfulness for a 4th time aft precocious winds battered the UK and Ireland past week.

Specialist engineers person arrived from England to assistance reconstruct power, but Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) has warned it could beryllium 3 February earlier each properties are reconnected.

On a sojourn to Northern Ireland connected Monday, Hilary Benn said the UK authorities is "working precise hard" to assistance conscionable the requests for enactment for Northern Ireland, including done the communal enactment aid.

"This is simply a applicable crisis, and what radical request is assistance - engineers, helicopters, bottled water, generators," the NI Secretary said.

"These are the things that marque a quality to radical connected the crushed portion they're waiting for their lives to get backmost unneurotic and for the energy proviso to beryllium restored."

Benn said the quickness of engineers arriving successful Northern Ireland to assistance repair the energy web shows that communal assistance "is the instauration of our country".

"We volition proceed to enactment hard to spot that that is the case," helium added.

Earlier connected Monday, the archetypal and lawman archetypal ministers called for Northern Ireland's energy organisation institution to supply compensation to those affected by Friday's storm.

Responding to whether the UK authorities would beryllium pledging fiscal support, the NI caput said if the enforcement recovered itself successful the presumption that it could not header with costs, the concern curate should marque the petition to the Treasury.

"Down the enactment volition beryllium a infinitesimal to see outgo and the presumption is arsenic it has ever been," Benn said.

At its peak, 30% of homes successful Northern Ireland were without powerfulness pursuing extended harm to the energy web caused by the storm.

However, NIE Networks managing manager Derek Hynes has said it volition beryllium "around 10 days by the clip we implicit the repairs needed to get powerfulness backmost to everyone".

Ronan McKeown, NIE aboriginal networks director, said it's been "an highly challenging situation" with their unit moving "flat out".

He estimated the bulk of customers volition person powerfulness backmost by Thursday.

Earlier, the archetypal curate and lawman archetypal curate called connected Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) to "step up" and supply enactment to those inactive without power.

Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly were speaking aft a gathering with NIE and an Executive gathering which discussed tempest harm response.

Specialist engineers person arrived from England to assistance reconstruct power, but NIE has warned it could beryllium 3 February earlier each properties are reconnected.

O'Neill said they "made the lawsuit precise powerfully to NIE that we judge determination should beryllium a goodwill payment".

Little-Pengelly added that "these companies marque important profits each year" and it was important that enactment was provided successful people's "time of need".

Little-Pengelly said that it was "unacceptable" that immoderate are inactive without power.

She said NIE was owed to respond soon to the compensation proposal.

The lawman archetypal curate said they had highlighted however Scottish vigor companies "have been stepping up" with akin compensation for customers.

O'Neill added: "This is simply a hard clip for radical – we're into time 4 [without electricity] for some.

"We are pushing arsenic hard arsenic we perchance tin successful presumption of getting everybody connected arsenic rapidly arsenic possible."

O'Neill besides commended the multi-agency effect to the tempest and said determination was "a precise constructive conversation" implicit the play with the UK authorities astir seeking further support.

Meanwhile, 10 schools successful Northern Ireland closed connected Monday owed to structural harm caused by Storm Éowyn, the acquisition curate said.

The Education Authority (EA) attraction helpline has been operational passim the play and received 154 reports of harm to schoolhouse buildings.

It ranged successful severity from missing extortion tiles, fallen trees and superior structural damage.