A man in his 70s who has been without power for two weeks due to Storm Éowyn has said that it has been "a nightmare".
Guido Von Der Velden who lives near Boyle, Co Roscommon, said that despite being as prepared as he possibly could be for the storm, he remains without power 14 days on.
"It's freezing. No hot meals, you can't take a shower. There are so many things that affect you," he said.
Speaking on RTÉ's News At One, he added: "We had [Storm] Darragh last month, which had me a week without power, and Storm Isha the year before."
According to ESB Networks, around 7,000 customers were still without power last night following Storm Éowyn.
Mr Von Der Velden has a small inverter generator and also bought tinned food and petrol in preparation for the storm.
"I woke up at around 2am [on 24 January] and already the power was out," he said.
"I have a transistor radio, so I was able to listen to RTÉ in the morning to see what was up."
Even with all his preparations, Mr Von Der Velden still lost the contents of his fridge and freezer. He estimated he is spending about €35 per day to keep his house warm with firewood and keep his generator going.
His two neighbours, both in their 70s, are also without power.
"They initially had their power back two days after the storm, so they were really happy," Mr Von Der Velden said.
"But then I had live wires in the back of my garden, so I had to call the ESB".
"It's very, very hard. It's freezing. No hot meals. You can't take a shower"
ESB Networks disconnected all three houses on the line, and they are still waiting for it to be fixed.
Brian, one of Mr Von Der Velden's neighbours, said it has been very hard to be without power for so long.
"It was initially very bad, but you accept it when something like that hits and you expect to be connected in two or three days," he said.
"So, we accepted it ... it's kind of a novelty when it happens, but that doesn't last very long.
"Since that time, it's become a nightmare.
"You're trying to get information. We've been told [the power will be back] on in two days, or then you're given three days and then you're given three more days and then you’re given two days.
"It's very, very hard. It's freezing. No hot meals. You can't take a shower. There's so many things that affect you."
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Brian was able to visit a friend's house to have a shower and go to a restaurant for a hot meal.
"I haven't been to any of the hubs yet," he said.
"You keep yourself as warm as you can. You sit in the car when you have to, and you warm up the car.
"So, I'm lucky that I'm able to go out and go to other houses.
"But after a while, I know nobody wants to see you coming and they're all surprised you're still out.
"You don't go to places because you don't want to impose," he said.
