List of Irish schools to CLOSE in worst-hit counties tomorrow after Storm Eowyn power & water chaos amid coverage plea

DOZENS of schools across Ireland are set to remain closed tomorrow as the water and power chaos caused by Storm Eowyn continues.

There are still 330,000 ESB customers without power following the storm in the early hours of Friday morning.

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And some of these customers could be facing into another week without power, forcing businesses and schools to remain closed.

By next Friday, the ESB said the “vast majority” of those impacted by Storm Eowyn will have power restored.

The energy provider expects the remaining approximately 100,000 customers will progressively have their supply restored over the course of the following week.

Water supply is also a problem in worst hit areas with nearly 109,000 homes, farms and businesses without water.

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Generators deployed by Uisce Eireann crews are now supplying an additional 112,000 people.

However, supplies for a further 126,000 people are at risk in areas where power is yet to be restored.

Areas most impacted were along the West Coast and Midlands including Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cavan, Monaghan, Westmeath, Donegal and Longford.

And pictures tonight show queues forming at a water tank stationed in Longford town, as most areas in the county continue to struggle without water.

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As these areas battle the post storm devastation schools have started confirming they will remain closed for a second day, with further announcements possible

Schools across Ireland were forced to close already on Friday amid the nationwide Status Red weather warning.

In a statement earlier today the Department of Education said schools could make the decision to close "until it is safe to reopen".

A spokesperson said: "Schools closed on Friday due to Storm Eowyn should open on Monday as long as it is safe to do so and power has been restored.

"Schools should carry out safety checks on buildings and facilities, check for fallen wires and any other damage near the school before reopening.

"If a school has any issues caused by the storm, the board of management can make the decision to remain closed until it is safe to reopen."

PHONE COVERAGE ISSUES

And on top of power and water outages, many areas have been left with no phone coverage, prompting schools to encourage parents to inform each other of closures.

Three Ireland website said: "Our networks team are working to monitor and restore connectivity promptly in case of intermittent coverage issues.

"Thank you for your understanding, and please stay safe!"

And posting on social media Vodafone told customers: "Our teams are still resolving current issues in the most impacted areas after Storm Eowyn."

They added: "Customers can still make emergency calls even if you don't appear to have signal."

And amid these coverage issues schools, are asking parents to make contact with those without service.

Taugheen National School in Mayo told parents: "School closed tomorrow as we have no power. Will be in contact again tomorrow evening.

"Please pass this message to anybody who may not have access due lack of coverage."