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The storm is clearly result of heresy in Ireland.....acceptance of The Word will bring sunshine all over...

good article.....nice relax read..perfect for weekend....

but i still wait for news about certain angry vegetarian irish women chasing cyprus gay men on the street screaming "illuminati"...

I liked the link to the trampoline and wheelie bin stuff.

On a serious note there is currently discussion here as to whether electric cabling should remain above ground or be put underground. The underground option will cause more disturbance and money initially, but the underground option should help stop what has been happening here in the last few days - people being left without electricity every time the wind blows...

Ah yes I am aware of this discussion as it passes through my county, Waterford. The main reason for burying as I see it is because pylons are an eyesore.

If the ESB spent less money on salaries, and more on infrastructure, we'd have a functioning n/w. They don't, they won't, and they're uninterested. Govt duopolies are really not the best way to run a supposedly open-market sector 🙁

We have a functioning national network and it compares very favourably with other European countries

Not in Kerry, we don't. In fact, in most rural areas, we don't.
And it doesn't compare favourably. I've been working with the EU on projects for years - Ireland simply doesn't participate in most initiatives. The odd independent company does, and drops out when they lose the will to live over outrageously long deadlines for projects, funding for big name companies only, and a total lack of national support.
Spend a few years in Brussels with our so-called peers, and you'd know it for sure.

As an ex ESB worker I must remain loyal. 😛

Here we begin to move to a different discussion. "Govt duopolies are really not the best way to run a supposedly open-market sector" This may be true, but capitalism and open markets are not the best for the majority of people on the planet. A small example of same is in the possible future of public transport in Dublin. No private company will run a bus company in Dublin that does not have buses that are 3/4 full (roughly) on their routes. They seek to make money, not serve the customers. A government agency that ignores absolute profit can serve the needs of a city/community as it does not have the capitalist imperative.

Did you know that the ESB is not a single company? It is broken up into many companies. This was at the behest of Europe. It does not make the ESB, or power production and supply in Ireland more efficient.

"Did you know that the ESB is not a single company?" Yes, ofc. Neither is Bord Gais or any other of the national assets. The company structure is a complex shell of financial accounting for exposure and liabilities, and many of the real assets aren't even recognised or managed, let alone put to good use.

thats weird. thought you guys had their shit together. Im enjoying glorious weather tivo(our version anyway) and the occasional drink. Also much rain which is great as we really need it.

Public utility companies ie electric, gas, water, transport, etc should be state owned.

Actually, I agree. So why are we selling them off?
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/deal-to-sell-bord-gais-division-29833872.html

Because the previous government in collusion with the bankers bankrupted the country

How often do we look back at history and say, "What were they thinking?"

Or "What were they drinking?!?!"

You want paddy to remember what he drank and when. are you CRAZY woman!!

Had it not been for alcohol, the Irish would rule the world.

H ad it not been for alcohol, we'd have found some other excuse to be retarded.

it it hadn't have been for alcohol RTK wouldn't be here today..lol

Speak for yourself special boy!

Nova Scotia has similar utility woes. Privatized the power company thinking it would make it more efficient, and now we see the investors taking priority over the people who become nothing more than captive customers and consumers. Infrastructure gets neglected in the interest of saving money, and we start getting excuses for the power being out like "salt wind"... whatever that means.

That said, I'm sure we'd be just as screwed if it were run by the government... utilities are an expensive and complicated utility.

It always depends on which government runs it. If the government operates like a business with a "Profit over people" mentality then indeed, it's just as screwed as being privatized.

The problem here is corruption and jobs for the boys. The country has a population less than most developed cities in other countries, and no more geo/topo challenges than Scandinavia, for example.
The assets are managed by people with little experience, and regulated by people with even less. The localised engineering functions work just fine, but there is no national strategy to bring the infrastructure into the 21st Century. It's not rocket science. There have been many initiatives to attempt this. The utilities management hold every weak minister hostage, and venture capital ownership of stuff like the former telecoms n/w means that the civil servants who negotiate terms are WAAAAAY way out of their depth. But they will neither accept or admit it. Nor accept help from outside.
Most of our ministries are run by people with little or no experience in their portfolio field, so it's commonplace here.

Sounds to much like my own home province, it's making me laugh.