Councillor demands answers over north Mayo's repeated power outages

Households and businesses across the Eachléim and Belmullet area were left without electricity over the weekend, with Fine Gael Cllr Gerry Coyle saying the ESB has "serious questions to answer" over the frequency of outages in the area.

Cllr Coyle, who represents the Belmullet Local Electoral Area, said he had been in contact with the ESB, who are investigating the fault.

"This is just not acceptable," he said. "It is 2026, there's no excuse for the frequency of outages in the area, it was only out on Thursday last."

The outage affected almost 2,700 people on the peninsula, including summer students at Coláiste Uisce.

Cllr Coyle said local businesses and households "do not deserve this," particularly in an area so dependent on tourism during the summer months.

He praised local ESB crews for their efforts to restore supply, but said the network operator itself had to answer for the repeated faults.

"I've nothing but credit for the local crews who are constantly patching up the service, but the ESB have serious questions to answer," he said.