Legislation to bolster ESB Networks' authority to manage vegetation around electricity lines remains unpublished nearly 18 months after Storm Éowyn, Fine Gael Senator Gareth Scahill has warned.

Senator Scahill said households and businesses across the country—particularly in areas that have suffered prolonged blackouts such as Roscommon—should not be heading into another winter relying on legislation from 1927 to keep the power on.

The Government committed to a vegetation management Bill after Cabinet approved the Heads of the Bill in July 2025. Yet, as of last month, the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment confirmed the draft Heads are still being revised, with no Bill published.

-- Advertisement --

"We were told the heads of the Bill were approved well over a year ago. Families in the west are still losing power for weeks at a time when trees come down on lines and we’re being told the legislation is 'being progressed'. That's not good enough," Senator Scahill said.

At present, ESB relies on Section 98 of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1927 to cut trees and hedges obstructing lines—a provision that requires case-by-case agreement with landowners and lacks the statutory clarity on forestry corridors that the new Bill is intended to provide.

"Every winter we wait, we're gambling with people's electricity supply. This Bill needs to be published and passed before the next storm hits, not after," he added.

Senator Scahill said he will continue to press the Minister to publish the Bill without delay, ensuring ESB Networks has a firm statutory footing ahead of the coming winter.